


The Battle of Fairies

by SnugglesGodOfDeath (Richard_J)



Series: Demons' Game [2]
Category: Fairy Tail, Princess Tutu, Touhou Project, Zeta Gundam
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-08-24 03:05:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8354473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Richard_J/pseuds/SnugglesGodOfDeath
Summary: The game board has been set and the pawns placed.  As the demons begin making their moves, one pawn struggles to survive while the other prepares for war.  What kind of humans are the two pieces in play?  How will the wizards of Fairy Tail react as their story is twisted by forces beyond their comprehension?Unwilling to laze about while the demons play their game, Yukari Yakumo is drawn into the new incident.  Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame search for answers at home but, with Yukari once again absent, can Gensokyo continue to remain peaceful?Second Arc of "Demons' Game."





	1. Between Silence and Storm

Limitless oceans of purest darkness, dotted by islands of glimmering crystal light, spread out before Yukari Yakumo like a chest of treasures waiting to be opened. Within the boundaries of the extraplanar realm of quasi-existence, she gazed upon the vastness of the void, marveling at how it enhanced the beauty of the countless sparkling sharp crystalline facets. In this gap between realities, she found them comforting in their extraordinary normalcy.

They were clearly real.

For her, there was a creeping feeling of nonexistence and unreality that threatened to undefine her own sense of self. Merely maintaining a clear idea of her own identity nearly overwhelmed Yukari’s mind. Her perspective was flawed but she willed herself to embrace it completely lest she risk ceasing to be a bounded existence entirely.

She stood upon nothing but the conceptual firmament of a dream but she willed her feet to accept it as solid ground. They did, with reservations. She was standing yet she was also floating; stable yet indefinite. Muttering voicelessly to herself, Yukari brushed aside those most perplexing dual sensations without concern. They were not too different from what she felt in her own gap-space though the clarity of her own existence was now as ephemeral as a memory.

‘I must focus,’ she thought calmly, pushing aside all uncertainty of her own existence.

Alone in the dark, she concentrated on the task at hand.

Reaching out with her ability to sense the boundaries of all things, she started to search for her lost friend. <Now then, where . . . oh my.>

A wavering dread and incertitude pierced through to her very soul.

What she sensed all around her was beyond comprehension. The irrationality of it all made her shiver as the true shape of this reality made itself known to her. Like lost phantom limbs, she felt her nerves tremble and her skin crawl.

<Incredible! So _this_ is the game board then? >

Though in awe of what she’d discovered in the dark, and more than a little terrified, Yukari could do nothing but accept her own helplessness. It was beyond her control . . . at least, for the time being.

What she could not accept were the magnitudes of the massive absolute boundaries surrounding her. The crystals floating like stars in the dark skies were each and every one a universe unto itself! Never before had she dreamt that such things could exist!

The crystals faintly hummed with seemingly limitless existences contained within. Yukari’s mathematical sense left her suspicious that calculating their sheer scale as a whole would require the use of numbers no smaller than googolplexes and quite possibly scaling up towards near infinities. She had never attempted to manipulate such profoundly grand boundaries before.

‘Could even the Dragon do such a thing?’ she wondered uncertainly.

In this gap between realities she thought it might be possible for _her_ at least.

Knowing that each contained a universe unto itself, Yukari felt lightheaded at the mere fantasy of using her ability to manipulate even a single crystal. It was enough to make her heart skip a beat. Yukari was sorely tempted. She thought of the near countless stories and existences surrounding her, of the crystalline boundaries, and knew that for a being such as herself this place was her ultimate position of power.

No one was there to stop her either.

‘Patience,’ she thought pleasantly to herself.

There were other ways she could use her ability in the extraplanar space, ways less risky than manipulating the crystalline boundaries. Opening her mind, seeking the boundaries around her, she began to search for something unknown. With her many ages of experience, she was confident she’d know it when she found it.

<There,> she said without words a moment later.

She’d sensed a hint of an ever so slight tugging toward one of the crystals, a novel sensation akin to a spiritual bond but so subtle as to be virtually undefined.

It was a hopeful sign to follow.

Parasol probably in hand, she drifted toward the crystal, and instantly felt herself drawn in. As if something had been awaiting her, she plunging into another world, unafraid. ‘If death by travel were possible, they could never play their game,’ she reasoned. ‘These beasts do not leave their victories to chance.’

Reality would quickly prove her hypothesis correct . . . or so she hoped.

 

As Yukari left behind the darkness between universes, a resonating bell chime filled the void, and a disembodied woman’s soft voice giggled like a child’s conniving mockery of adults. Sound became substance. She took shape from the darkness itself. Clad in black and lace, smile cruel as cancer, she spoke to beings far older than the universes surrounding her.

“As Game Master, I speak neither for demons nor for pieces, but for the game itself. This is neither tragedy nor comedy; what begins here is fate’s folly,” she intoned, snapping her fingers. “Amuse me in this first round as much as you can for this is but the beginning of all’s end.”

Several crystals instantly began to resonate and gleam ever more brightly.

Mists of glittering light flowed from one to another as the first round’s planned course became an absolute path of fate.

 

The gap portal opened.

Yukari dropped down from her golden gap, shifting boundaries to float at the last second, and took her first uncertain step into a strange new realm.

Immediately, she noticed how different the air tasted. It was clean like Gensokyo’s but dreadfully thin. Her lungs labored mightily to draw in even the slightest taste of air. Something about the sensation put her in mind of a cell, sealed with plastic and tape, that allowed only a trace of oxygen in before the prisoner inside quickly used it up.

Suffocating. This new world was suffocating to her.

Yet, it wasn’t naturally so. Adjustments had been deliberately made.

‘Why make the air so thin?’ she wondered but then hit upon the answer quite easily. ‘Ah, of course. What other reason could there be? _Security_.’ As a youkai, Yukari caught the trick but hesitated to manipulate the boundaries around her to try and counter it.

She had neither doujinshi nor her companion. Yukari knew the most important principle for formulating a sound strategy was to gather extensive and accurate information but she was guided by no more than her own wits.

Knowing her enemy’s strengths and weaknesses, experiencing terrain before a fight, and being able to understand one’s own virtues and vices were all essential elements in crafting successful plans for battle. She understood this and knew that her knowledge was far too limited.

Knowing her own position but little else left her at the mercy of fate.

It might be premature to take an aggressive action that could reasonably be viewed as directly hostile. Surely she’d already breached whatever their first major line of defense against unwanted visitors happened to be; she wouldn’t blame the inhabitants of this world if they thought her dangerous already for simply appearing. Yukari knew she’d think similarly of unwanted guests in Gensokyo but she favored a policy of proceeding peacefully.

However, truly going on the offensive might be precisely the _right_ choice here. The thin air could be a test meant to determine if she was worthy of entry.

It might be a sign of crisis too.

Without some idea of this world and its inhabitants, Yukari had no clear best option, though two options stood out in her mind. She could manipulate the boundaries around her to breathe more easily or she could try to enter negotiations for her arrival to be accepted.

Either way was a gamble without knowing more so Yukari chose the least offensive. Focusing her thoughts inward, she changed herself enough to breath easily despite the thinner air. Manipulating boundaries within oneself wasn’t ideal but it seemed a prudent alternative to the likely violation of local taboos.

Thinking that she should ease any fears the inhabitants of this reality might have, Yukari decided to play the role of helpless tourist. “Hello? Is anyone here?” she called out, propping her parasol on one shoulder. “Could someone please help me? I’m not sure where I am.”

She wasn’t even lying.

While Yukari’s most basic instincts told her that there were no clearly defined boundaries as with a planet, she had no clue where she was. Not on Earth, surely, but where? For a moment, she thought of the moon but dismissed that possibility almost immediately. Her surroundings carried a certain aura, a glow of natural rather than unnatural purity. It was some strange divine realm, likely belonging to whatever reality she’d managed to wander into’s higher order beings.

‘The decor certainly fits a heavenly realm,’ she mused, her thoughts on Bhavaagra.

All around her was a vast void of spacial darkness, broken up by spires of shimmery crystal that turned the tiniest illumination into sparkling starlight. There were walkways and platforms and even buildings scattered about as well. Everything was decorated in a motif of stars, planets, and astrological symbols.

A quick glance toward the sky added to the oddness of it all. Several different planet-like orbs floated far above her. Doting the surfaces of each were visible buildings.

Although a bit surreal, she supposed it was actually normal for this place, so she set it aside and marveled instead at the contrast of the vast and infinite with the minuscule and finite. Yukari felt certain that whatever beings created this place were likely to possess great power.

The void above and below seemed to stretch into eternity but she suspected that was a trick. Using her ability ever so slightly, she realized that what lay below her was not a void at all but a solid surface. Past the stone walkway she stood upon, it was crystal-clear, as if she had arrived on a planet made of glass.

The view settled her on keeping to a non-violent path.

“My name is Yukari Yakumo and I come in peace,” she said, smiling sweetly.

She thought to curtsey, bending her knees outward and sweeping one foot behind her, keeping her back straight. As she lowered herself, she lifted the edge of her dress up a few inches and very slightly forward. She waited in that low position, hoping to be acknowledged.

Seconds became minutes.

Silence.

Minutes became irritations.

Eventually, Yukari rose with a huff and straightened her dress, brushing the lacy hem carefully. “Hmph, perhaps this world is devoid of life?”

“What business do you have here, little lady?”

A booming voice from behind was coupled with powerful boundaries. The looming presence she felt was staggering even to her. Yukari was instantly on guard. ‘How did he sneak up on me?!’ she thought as she neatly turn on her heel, beaming a lovely smile.

She accepted the near certainty that this development was not a good sign but chose to hope for the best regardless.

“Why hello the-”

Her attempt at a greeting died. Staring at what might be an ankle beneath thick layers of armor, Yukari slowly brought her face up . . .

. . . and up . . .

. . . until her neck ached and she finally found a widely-grinning broad face.

“Huge!” she yipped, taking a step back out of shock.

“Hahahahah!” The colossal mustachioed man-thing bellowed laughter.

He was an enormous giant, taller than any Yukari had ever before imagined to encounter. With a manly, wide-shouldered figure, he stared down from a dizzying natural height which was increased by the fact that he floated in the air. His muscles were hidden by green and golden armor, while a long but frayed-looking cape billowed behind him in the absence of any wind.

At his hip, he bore an enormous sword and Yukari could tell from the subtle ways in which he favored the sheaf-side that it was anything but ornamental.

His blank, pupil-less eyes stared down at her from high above. She felt as if she were shrinking before him and the faintest quiver overcame her stiff upper lip. The only aspect of the behemoth’s appearance that provided her any sense of calm was his comically oversized mustache. Its two enormous sides stretched out so far diagonally that they reached his upper torso. They must have almost been able to reach the ends his shoulders!

A grinning expression belied the cool cunning Yukari sensed from his eyes though it failed to completely hide a hint of warning. Using her ability, she detected an unusually powerful cohesion among his boundaries. Her instincts were right: he was a legitimate threat.

This was no trick of light or mist. She could not dismiss him as a mere Brocken Spectre no matter how much she wished to.

Yukari gulped a bit in spite of herself as she bowed her head to the magnificent being.

“Please, allow me to re-introduce myself,” she said with a smile as she bobbed a quick curtsey again. “My name is Yukari Yakumo. I am a simple youkai who means you no harm.”

She hoped he might believe her very-slightly-revised version of the truth.

“I am the Celestial Spirit King,” he intoned formally, nodding ever so slightly. Then, in a dry voice, he added “and no simple _anything_ is capable of so casually entering my realm.”

‘So this behemoth is royalty? He seems quite confident and rather affable,’ Yukari thought, favoring the King with another respectful tilt of her head. Casting aside her false humility, she said “well, rather than simple, shall we say I am a cunning youkai but one lacking in the complex motivations a villain might bare?”

“Suit yourself, my old friend,” the King chuckled heartily, “but it would be best to tell me exactly how you came to be here.” He stroked his stubble and furrowed his brow, deepening his wrinkles. His face was decidedly scruffy and a bit weathered; it was a warrior’s face.

“Actually,” he added in an soft voice, “it would be best to start by telling me _why_ you are here in the Celestial Spirit World to begin with.”

Yukari had found herself relaxing instantly upon hearing the word ‘friend’ from the King’s lips but she grew slightly tense again at the hint of implied threat. “Yes, I shall explain everything. I apologize for being vague before, your majesty.”

She quickly outlined the basics of her situation, focusing on her wish to find Arjay, and the existence of others who could use portals. The only detail she left out was the fact that everything he knew was quite possibly a work of human fiction being used by demons for their game. Yukari had yet to come to terms with that quandary herself and had no desire to spread the irritated confusion nor the slight depression she’d experienced over it to innocent beings.

It went without saying that she did not share the revelations of Penemuel either. Those secrets were too problematic to risk sharing. She had no way to know how others might react to the possibilities hidden within the portals. She’d yet to test them as well.

After she finished her story, the King rubbed his massive chin and seemed deep in thought. His blank, pupil-less eyes narrowed slightly, the shadows outlining them growing longer as he ground his teeth.

“Ah, I see,” he grumbled, “so that’s how it is, is it? Your story explains much.”

Yukari tilted her head uncertainly as the King clearly thought something through.

“Yes, of course, that must be it,” he muttered seriously to himself. Looking down at her, his eyes warmed. Grinning, he put his hands on his hips, and let loose a hearty chuckle. “Aha! I thank you, my friend, for sharing your story with me. As you’ve just arrived in my realm, it is doubtless that you haven’t noticed the trouble we are experiencing.”

“Indeed not,” she answered, instantly on guard. “Please, enlighten me, your majesty.”

The King ran his giant fingers through his ridiculously grand mustache.

“Of course! Whether you are youkai, whatever that is, human, or Celestial Spirit, this situation is dire. So dire that I’d gladly borrow a cats paw to resolve it. Since this matter began very recently I’d yet to determine the true cause.” He paused. “That is, until you appeared.”

“Me?”

The King nodded.

“I believe you are a key piece of this puzzle. Would you be willing to assist us?” he asked calmly. Then his lips curled back to bear his teeth. It wasn’t quite a smile as it never came close to his blank white eyes. “Of course, that is if you aren’t our enemy, my _friend_.”

He silently let his actual and implied words sink in.

Thinking carefully, Yukari considered her next move.

Ally herself with this King of Spirits or instead seek out other characters in hope of finding Arjay. Neither option was necessarily right or wrong. Although she admittedly found this giant pleasant to talk to, she had no knowledge of the world she’d found herself in, and she supposed he could he be a villain that appeared kind.

‘Are not such characters more common of late?’

Yukari also wondered what dangerous tropes might apply, hidden like buried mines. Her knowledge of popular modern fiction in the ‘real world’ was limited to snippets of discussions she’d overheard in her brief time at All Anime Allure Con and the fragments of truth tucked away in the precious few stories she’d read.

‘How I wish I could find another doujinshi seller,’ she thought, longing even for the tiniest hints provided in hentai to alleviate her potentially lethal ignorance.

Rubbing her chin, she thought quickly. “Hmm, I suppose whatever your situation is it must be quite unfortunate,” Yukari offered softly, “as is my own. Perhaps we _can_ work together. Aid me in finding my friend and I shall try whatever I can to resolve this incident as well.”

A powerful smile lit up the King’s face.

“Ah hah hah! How could I turn down the offer of such a beautiful woman! I’m grateful for your assistance!”

Yukari opened her fan to hide her relieved, but nervous, grin.

‘I do hope I won’t regret this.’

 

Elsewhere in the Celestial Spirit World, distant voices murmured in the deeper shadows.

In an opulent but messy bedroom, a single Spirit lazily blinked her eyes as she stirred from slumber. Unsure at first what had roused her, she quickly noticed the faint whispering in the darkness.

Her ears perked at a single name that barely reached her. “. . . with Lucy Heartfilia . . . ,” spoke something far away yet so powerful its speech echoed in the farthest places of her world.

“Lucy?” the Spirit mumbled as she clutched leather sheets to her firm bare breasts, straining to hear more.

Her skin tingled as if the air were filled with electricity.

A strange scent burned her nose. Unfamiliar dread filled her flesh.

Still, she listened intently, unconcerned for herself.

‘Mistress might be in trouble,’ she thought groggily before remembering that she had been told, repeatedly, to call her latest keeper ‘Princess’ instead.

Another voice, strangely similar to the first yet infinitely different, hissed a response that she only half caught. “. . . my pawn shall . . . ,” and then the world felt different and Virgo knew the exchange had never been meant for her ears or those of any Celestial Spirit.

Although Virgo had been asleep, resting from a long day of preparing for any possible duty or pleasant service her Princess might call upon her to fulfill, she was certain she’d heard something very real and equally dangerous. It wasn’t a dream.

Her dreams were consistently much less vague and ominously portentous.

Something strange and unsettling had just sent a ripple throughout her world like a stone cast upon a serene lake’s surface. Every speck of her existence trembled with a sensation she could not put into words as the strange and unidentifiable odor lingered. Her every instinct pushed her to wakeful alertness.

Flipping her sheets back, Virgo soon stood naked in her bedroom. Her breasts jiggling a bit, she tossed aside leather, chains, and stuffed animals, rummaging through a pile of her possessions until she soon found what she wanted: a clean maid’s uniform.

Dressing quickly, she promptly knelt in her bedroom and waited to be called upon.

There was no way for her to know if or when the voices would repeat. Until she was summoned, the Celestial Spirit of the Maiden would wait, diligently and patiently, to listen for even the faintest whisper about her Princess.

“Perhaps she will punish me for my reward?” Virgo suggested out loud in the hopes that her words might also find her Princess’s ears.

“Virgo! Have you heard? Please tell me have!”

Caught up in a daydream of being whipped by Lucy, Virgo hadn’t noticed when her room was invaded by another Spirit. A familiar face got too close as Virgo tilted her head uncertainly. “Lyra, how did you get in my house?”

“That’s not important!” Shaking her head hard enough to send her waist length hair sailing in all directions, almost losing her pink bonnet, the Celestial Spirit Lyra waved her hands desperately for attention. “Virgo, haven’t you sensed it?! You must have! I was sent here with special orders for you so don’t tell me you’ve been sleeping through it all again!”

Lyra put her hands to her cheeks and trembled as her small wings twitched in despair.

Again, Virgo tilted her head, this time out of concern. “Please calm down.”

“I AM CALM!!”

‘This isn’t the sort of punishment I wanted,’ Virgo thought as she began trying to soothe her fellow Spirit’s heart. ‘I wonder what’s actually going on. Those strange voices aside, everything feels normal to me.’

 

* * *

 

Reimu Hakurei woke as the unseasonable seeping cold of the late morning air started nipping at her nose. Muttering complaints about her shrine’s poor insulation, she forced herself to leave the comfort of her futon. Her normal morning rituals started with dressing and yawning and it was a typical morning in Gensokyo . . . or at least it should have been.

Stepping outside, Reimu shielded her eyes from the mid-morning sun. With one glance at the clear sky, she immediately guessed that the weather would be mild for the rest of the day but a storm would come later in the week. She knew from experience her hunches were almost always right.

“A lovely day is a lucky day, right?”

She walked over to the large donation box in front of the main entrance. Pausing as she approached it, Reimu took a deep breath, held it. ‘Oh god or goddess or whatever you are that dwells in this shrine,’ she prayed somewhat irreverently, ‘let there be a big one today!’

Clapping her hands twice, she scooted around to the front of the donation box and checked the lock. It was still there, intact, doing its job. Breathing a sigh of relief, she inspected all the ornate carvings and reliefs. Everything was in good condition.

Ever so gently, she worked several small mechanisms built into the donation box. Then she set about bringing the key out with a minor spell. Taking a deep breath, she carefully inserted the key, and turned it.

The donation box was there for the shrine’s visitors to leave their offerings of money.

Reimu quickly yanked the top up, and looked deep into the dark bowels, her face excited.

Once again, it had failed to fulfil its purpose for being.

“Tsk,” Reimu clicked her tongue and dropped the lid back in place without another glance. Hands on her hips, she sighed. With a shake of her head, she turned to go back inside, and was caught off-guard by a gust of familiar wind.

The breeze was short-lived but Reimu had to quickly adjust her red skirt and top. She’d half expected that wind to tear off her sleeves but unlike the shrine itself, her uniform was quite well-made. As she fiddled with the red ribbon around her collar, she noted that paper talismans hanging from the oversized shimenawa over the shrine’s entrance still rustled as if a faint breeze were blowing. Sighing, Reimu scratched the back of her head in irritation.

“It’s still not quite right,” she grumbled to herself as someone approached from behind, “guess I’ll have to strengthen the purification enchantment again.” Reimu frowned.

With a lighthearted laugh, her visitor chimed in with “ya know, every time I come here, I kinda expect to find this old shrine collapsed under the weight of its own decrepitness.”

Reimu almost growled in irritation as she turned on her heel.

“Oh, so you’re here, Marisa? I’d never have guessed.”

Grinning, Marisa Kirisame nodded sheepishly as she looked up at Reimu. One hand was on her hip while the other held her trusty riding broom. Dressed in black and white, head crowned by a tall floppy pointed hat, Gensokyo’s resident mendacious magician was as refreshingly energetic as always.

“Aw, ya know what they say,” she said as she rubbed a finger under her nose. “It ain’t flyin’ if it ain’t windy. Ridin’ a broom is all about the air displacement!”

“Really? I’d have thought you of all people would be developing your stealth skills.”

“Ooh, ouch, ya got me!”

Marisa mimed being hit by danmaku and crumpled to the ground. With her comically exaggerated limb flailing and theatrical gasping, she resembled a newly caught fish.

Snorting as she tried to hold back her laughter, Reimu turned away to cover her face.

“Heh, I was hopin’ I’d get at least a grin out of ya with that one!” Marisa said as she easily hopped to her feet. She set her broom against a wall with a chuckle.

Reimu turned back in mock irritation.

“I’m perfectly fine, I’ll have you know! I’m not in need of any cheering up.”

Nodding solemnly, Marisa closed her eyes and sagely said “of course, young maiden of the Hakurei, and no one said otherwise.” Opening one eye, she stared at Reimu carefully, unable to fully contain her grin. “So . . . why didja suggest it?”

“Stop playing games!” Reimu huffed. “Are you here so early just to tease me?”

“Um, it’s actually kinda a late mornin’ for me,” Marisa said as she adjusted her tall black hat. “Just wanted to stop by and check in. Heard anythin’ weird that I should look inta? Like, in the village and stuff?”

Immediately, Reimu grew serious.

“Not much, actually. I hardly ever get proper visitors, though Ran did say she’ll be stopping by later. I’ll ask her. They do seem to trust _her_ at least.”

Marisa smiled ruefully. “Weird how everyone thinks Ran’s the nice one,” she said as she set her broom down near the donation box.

“Hmph,” Reimu crossed her arms. “They should all think better of Yukari.”

“The Hakurei Shrine exists to watch over the Great Hakurei Barrier, the boundary that keeps everyone inside safe, right?” Marisa asked rhetorically. “So, why does everyone get all bent out of shape where Yukari’s concerned? I mean, she’s helping to do that, right?”

“Oh, who even cares?” Reimu snorted bitterly. “They’re all so old-fashioned.”

“Aren’t ya kinda old-fashioned too?”

“Do you _still_ need to be here?”

Marisa grinned. “Well, maybe not. Just wanted to check in, ya know? I mean, uh . . . _you_ and _Yukari_ got together, right? I’d heard rumors before but . . . uh . . . didja really _get together_ before Yukari’s sendoff party?”

A faint blush lit up Reimu’s cheeks and she coughed at the question. After a short pause, she admitted “that’s right.”

“So, ya two have . . . uhm . . . ya know?”

Her blush growing redder, Reimu’s expression softened and her lips curved upward.

“We _are_ in love,” she said carefully.

Marisa nodded and held up her hands. “Yeah, no, not judgin’ or anythin’. Surprised to hear about it from the Scarlet Devil is all. Wow, happy for ya, really!”

“You don’t have to force yourself. We’ll still be friends even if you don’t approve.”

Twitching at Reimu’s words and the sad tone in which she delivered them, Marisa turned away from her. Crossing her arms behind her back, she said “ain’t how it is. Its not like I’ve got any right to say anythin’ about it either. But . . . it caught me off-guard, ya know?”

“Funny you should say that,” Reimu offered with smirk, “you’re partly responsible.”

“EH!?”

“Remember? She saw us together? It was that time right after we brought back Spring?”

Marisa squinched up her face and thought very hard. After a moment, her eyes widened and she practically lit up like a lantern as understanding struck. “Oh! Ya mean at the party? When I got so drunk I didn’t know my own name?”

“Right. Yukari saw me holding you up and she got a bit . . . jealous. She thought you and I might be . . . well . . . _you know_.”

“ _You_ and . . . _me_?!” Marisa asked incredulously.

Frowning, Reimu put her hands on her hips and glared at her friend.

“Uh, no, no offense intended,” Marisa quickly placated. “I can’t wrap my head around the idea of us as a couple, is all. I mean, I like men.”

“You like _a man_ ,” Reimu corrected her.

Marisa blushed furiously and balled her hands into fists at her sides.

“Okay, if yer goin’ to make cracks like that, then I’m gone! I wanted to run by Suzunaan to check out the human-edition of Bunbunmaru anyway. Might talk with Kosuzu too, see if she’s run into anythin’ new. That incident with Yukari started with a weird book, right?”

Reimu shrugged. “Not sure. It might have been a part of it or it might have been no more than a simple stray book. There’s so much we still don’t know.”

“Either way, figure checkin’ around for strange books might not be a bad way to get started investigatin’ things,” Marisa said forcefully. “I’m kinda curious about this whole thing, ya know? That’s the _one_ and _only_ reason I’m goin’ to the village!”

“Liar.”

“I ain’t lyin’!” Marisa lied, “I’m not goin’ to visit Kourindou, I’ve got no reason at all to talk to any fine-looking man there, and dang it, _I ain’t runnin’ late to any hot pot dat- er, day_! I only go there for the food! Got it?!” Marisa dashed over to where she’d left her flying broom.

Before Reimu could so much as bat an eye, she was off and soaring into the air.

“Well,” said the shrine maiden, “I suppose that means she’s going to be too busy with Rinnosuke to do any actual investigating today. Tomorrow’s another day but a storm will hit sooner or later.”

Glancing back up at the shimenawa, Reimu felt a prickle of worry. Something her grandmother used to say suddenly rose half-remembered in her thoughts. Childhood memories of reading special books came to her too. For a moment, she felt some long-forgotten memory peeking out of the haze of years but then it was gone before she could quite draw it out.

Reimu rubbed her chin and headed for the Hakurei Shrine’s detached storage shed without another thought. Despite Marisa’s ‘investigation’ being a fabrication, a very faint impression that she might nonetheless have been on the right track lingered.

“Books, huh?”

Like her thoughts about the weather, it was nothing more than Reimu’s hunch. Still, it was enough to keep her feeling connected to Yukari’s quest.

And, whether she liked it or not, there were some things only the Hakurei could do.

“This could be a long day,” she said with a smile, “I hope nothing too serious comes up while I’m busy. She needs all my attention on this.”

Smiling faintly, thoughts of Yukari floating seductively in her head, Reimu had only barely reached the door of the Hakurei storage shed when her face turned scarlet.

“Wait a minute! What kind of rumors about Yukari and me is that vampire spreading?!”

 

* * *

 

“No distractions, please,” Yukari said softly as she closed her eyes and drew in, then released, a steadying breath. She could already feel the boundaries responding. It wouldn’t take long to know them intimately.

Hovering beside Yukari, though slightly above her, the Celestial Spirit King watched her work with curious eyes. Studying her, he convinced himself anew that he could trust his strange uninvited guest.

As her long blonde locks billowed in the whispering winds, she breathed in and out, concentrating on the flows of power only she could properly sense. Outwardly, she wore an uncanny smile. Her expression never changed as she used her ability, even as her dress fluttered violently with the strengthening wind. Keeping arms at her side to hold down the hem, seeking the boundaries, she tried to maintain modesty while letting her thoughts drift outward.

It was obvious that she was a master of her craft. Watching her tranquil face, the King wondered how he might fare in a duel with such a woman. Just how deep ran the wellspring of this youkai’s true strength?

‘She has the look of a warrior,’ he thought respectfully.

Yukari’s face was a serene mask hiding a flurry of desperation.

‘Why can’t I find them?’ she wondered nervously.

Although she’d only just begun, she needed but a second to realize that she wasn’t connecting with all the boundaries within the Celestial Spirit World.

Seeking an answer, Yukari reached out further, focusing more and more of her power.

‘Someone is blocking me,’ she realized with a start. Her brow furrowed as she considered her options. Though it was far from the first time she’d encountered such a trick, each time was uniquely annoying at the start. ‘Finesse or force?’ she asked herself, debating the merits silently, her face never once losing its sheen of confidence.

She launched her youkai ability at the surrounding reality, imposing her will upon it all. A tidal wave of knowledge flowed forth and filled her, became one with her, and she knew many things she hadn’t before.

There were so many new and mysterious boundaries here! Yukari could sense them, could almost touch them, but a few still yet remained hidden from her.

It was as if someone had covered one of her eyes, then refused to allow her to turn her head, and they kept her from moving to a better vantage point. All of this while demanding she evaluate a work of fine art despite part of it being just barely out of sight.

Yukari could determine many things from the boundaries she sensed. The reality around her was filled with mystic energies and every being in it possessed power. She knew it to be an exquisite reality, vast in size yet strangely few in inhabitants, but there still remained an illusive final portion of the whole she could not yet sense.

There was a dead zone.

In that dead zone lay the means to resolve their incident.

She knew it. She almost had the truth but it remained just beyond her inner sight.

Yukari squeezed her eyes tighter, drawing some measure of focus from the slight pain. Her ability traced the limits of boundaries. She analyzed them carefully. Quantifying and collating, sensing and surmising, she built up her knowledge of the Celestial Spirit realm’s boundaries to near completion in a few minutes’ time.

Still, Yukari could not find where the boundaries here intersected with the so-called ‘Earthland’ the King had spoken of.

‘It’s almost as if . . . .’

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

“Damn him,” she hissed and bit the tip of her thumb angrily.

“Hmm?” the King leaned down and regarded Yukari with concern. “Are you alright? You seem troubled now.”

“Forgive me, your majesty,” Yukari said with a frown as she was forced to speak bitter words, “but it appears that an enemy of mine is likely behind your current troubles.”

She turned away from the King and stared at a point in space purely on instinct.

“Aren’t you watching us, _writer_?”

 

From his golden throne, Drosselmeyer indeed watched intently, and slowly began to clap his hands. His lips curled into a sneering smile at the sight of Yukari’s sullen glare as he drank in the melody of her accusing voice.

“Of course,” he said softly to her image in the crystal mirror, “there must be obstacles! This is not a friendly game, nor is it one to be played in solitude. This is a hostile struggle to reach the ends of the game board and the glorious prizes that await at each. It would be a dreadfully debase dereliction of duty not to interfere _just a little_!”

Chuckling, he waved away the image of Yukari.

A new image rapidly took form. Soon, he was watching a tall blonde man in a black and red uniform aimlessly wandering alleyways. The lack of plot development there disappointed him. “Always so _very_ serious yet so very poor in luck! Had he merely glanced down a different alleyway at the start, he’d already have found the trail of blood. What a pity . . . oh!”

Suddenly, Drosselmeyer’s expression changed as inspiration seized him. He couldn’t help but grin maniacally.

“I wonder . . . how far can we push the limits of the demons’ rules?”

He picked up a sheet of parchment paper and a bloody quill then did what he so loved to do. In the crystal mirror, the false reflection of Jerid took up his radio and listened briefly before saying something to the caller.

Drosselmeyer watched as a blank space on his paper rapidly filled with terse words.

[Roger that, I’ll report in if I find anything there. Messa out.]

“Such an obedient lackey, eh, Mr. Than?”

Looking back, Drosselmeyer grinned at the figure behind him, his presence all but concealed by shadows.

The former Archie Jacobson bared his teeth. Dressed in a Titans military uniform, he cut a dark yet dashing figure as he smiled a hunter’s smile. “I take back all the bad things I thought about you, Big D. You’re alright.”

“Ah, I’m merely doing my part to keep this game moving along swiftly, Mr. Than,” Drosselmeyer said with false modesty. He couldn’t keep himself from smiling though.

“You sure grin a lot,” Than said offhand.

“Do I?”

“Yeah, it’s damn creepy.”

Drosselmeyer bowed his head to hide the sight of his grin growing ever wider.

‘He doesn’t have a clue about what I have planned. I’ve never had so much fun! Oh, it’s as if I were a young man again! I’ve never felt so irresponsible with my writing and yet every twist is so very perfectly planned out! My commissioner is such a gifted trickster.’

Seeing that Than expected a response, Drosselmeyer tried to be serious. He let his face droop a bit and tried to fake chastened eyes.

It wasn’t easy but he was a master of such things.

“Well now, I’m enjoying my work. My commissioner did ask me to guide you on the proper path! I must say, right now, I have _never_ felt more satisfied with a story.”

“Yeah, why’s that?”

“Now to answer that,” Drosselmeyer held up a hand as if to push Than away, “would require spoilers and who enjoys those?” He clucked his tongue repeatedly before answering his own question. “No one!”

Than shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Crazy old corpse,” he said dismissively. “Whatever, send me back now. I’ve got more work to do to get ready for the battles to come.”

Smirking, Drosselmeyer started writing again and Than vanished back into the world of the Zeta Gundam in a flurry of ink-like magic. In his absence, the writer of tragedy sat back and sighed in irritation.

“Crazy? I’m not the fool who willingly chose to become the villain in a tragedy,” he said as he crumpled up his paper and tossed it over one shoulder. “Of course, I suppose it really doesn’t matter all that much anymore.”

He glanced over at a dark corer as it filled itself with the red-eyed demon.

“Isn’t that right, my commissioner?”

“Yes,” the demon hissed and then hoarsely laughed.

Drosselmeyer gave a hearty wheeze as well.

‘Laugh while you can,’ he thought, ‘for even _you_ are now but a character in _my_ ultimate tragic tale of folly and fall.’

 

Hands on her hips, Yukari floated next to the King’s head. Staring out at the horizon, she huffed while clenching and unclenching her fingers, and wished finding the proper boundary was as simple.

“Vexing,” she muttered, “double and triple vexing actually.”

“So, this writer is the cause? A mere writer has plunged my realm into such chaos?”

“Drosselmeyer is no mere anything. He has the ability to turn his writing into reality. Precious few even among the youkai of Gensokyo could compete with such a power,” she said darkly. “If I’m to be completely honest, I believe my kind are likely more vulnerable to his abilities than most would be. As we were born of human fears and superstitions, from their stories, so it is to be expected.”

Admitting that much openly only added to Yukari’s irritation but she could offer some hopeful words. “We are fortunate he places such great importance on his craft rather than on simple pragmatism. With a quill stroke, it might very well be that he could end this entire game. Fortunately, he isn’t so much interested in _how_ the story ends so long as it entertains him.”

Yukari sighed. With a rueful expression, she said “though his definition of entertaining likely matches our own definition for suffering. Still, we are fortunate nonetheless; we are free to defy the fate he seeks to impose on us and he cares little for how we go about it so long as it makes for an entertaining story. He is a writer after all.”

The King thought for a moment.

“Hmm,” he grumbled darkly, “I see. The writer is a rather dangerous one indeed. Such a twisted mind possessing such power . . . .”

Yukari smiled. “Worry not. Though he could abuse his writing to possibly end us all, he seems much concerned with following the proper rules and tropes of storytelling. Whatever plot he’s weaving, I doubt he means for me to fall in the first act.”

“That does little to reassure _me_ ,” the King said with a smirk.

“Well, I’m sure you’re at least considered my bumbling yet useful sidekick.”

The King laughed uproariously, the sheer force and volume sending Yukari sailing several dozen feet before she could stop herself. As she flew back to him, shaking her head and patting at her ears, he grinned widely at her.

“You _are_ amusing, Miss Yakumo! I hope this little adventure will end with both of us having a relaxing cup of sake!”

Yukari stared at him for a moment.

“Now how in Gensokyo could you know what my second favorite way to celebrate a resolved incident is?”

“Second? Why, what’s your first favorite then?”

“Well, recently Reimu and I-”

Realizing what she’d almost said, Yukari turned away and shut her mouth. Instantly, her cheeks reddened. Coughing repeatedly into her hand, trying to pretend she hadn’t actually said anything, she opened her parasol and propped it over one shoulder.

Hiding her face behind a hastily drawn fan, Yukari said “well now, lets discuss this situation with your most capable compatriots, shall we!”

Wisely, the Celestial Spirit King merely nodded.

“I’ve already ordered an assembly. We shall address my people together.”

 

* * *

 

Laxus laid out his clothes for the impending dawn.

First, a large black coat with gray fur trim. Smoothing the fur, he wondered if it might be a bit much. ‘It does kinda make me look like a villain in some kid’s story,’ he thought.

Snorting, he decided it was perfect. “I’m not exactly playing games here.”

Next, he set down a pair of bluish-black pants and a purple shirt with a wide collar. Combined with a simple reddish belt, he felt there would be definite impact. Something about it screamed ‘newly-named Guild Master’ to him.

“It’s fine regalia for me. Simple, stylish,” he said with a dark smile.

Smiling felt wrong. The muscles in his cheeks were stiff. It felt unnatural and fake. His face becoming stern instead, Laxus sat down across from his bed, staring at the outfit he’d assembled. He thought of all the little moments that had led up to his decision. Countless times people had badmouthed Fairy Tail replayed in his mind. Every insult stung deeply and every weak amateur who spouted off was just one more reason to claim the guild for himself.

A long sigh escaped from his lips. Laxus looked up at the ceiling, brooding over the past. Falling into reminiscence, he closed his eyes, thinking of when Fairy Tail was truly respected, losing himself in faint memories from his childhood.

Back then, he’d smiled genuinely.

The pain of the present was too much. How long was he expected to patiently endure the snide remarks and sidelong sneers? How long until the day his sainted grandfather deigned to acknowledge that the times had changed?

“After tomorrow, there’s no going back,” he said to himself. “That old man will have to step up and make me the new Guild Master. There’s no way he won’t cave. He’s too weak and sentimental to do anything else. Then no one will disrespect Fairy Tail again.”

Laxus could remember a time when no one questioned the guild’s strength.

‘Did they really never question it . . . or was I too young to hear them?’

That thought slithered through Laxus’s head like a serpent, coiling around his conscience, but he shook it off almost immediately. The past didn’t matter anyway, only the present. With a determined frown, he clenched his fist and thought of the jeers and jokes about his guild that nowadays so often spilled from the lips of fools. ‘I can’t take it any more. My Fairy Tail, my father’s guild, it’s gotten weak.’

It was Makarov’s fault, of course.

He treated the members like children.

Coddled them.

They might as well have been brats nursing bottles and wearing bibs.

‘I’m his only grandson. I’m his family. Not those weaklings,’ Laxus thought frostily.

Beyond the insults to the guild, there was one more thing that stood out in the S-Class lightening wizard’s mind, one thing he could no longer tolerate. “I’m more than just that old man’s grandson. I’m not some weak little child anymore. I’m strong. Stronger than any of them,” he muttered darkly to himself.

Laxus stood and gathered the clothes from his bed. He set them aside and laid himself down to drift into a fitful sleep. As his head pressed against his pillow his nose filled with the smell of feathers and cloth. It was an old and comforting scent from a thousand nights.

Still, there was no easy sleep to be had. Memories of the past and plans for the future dueled in Laxus’s mind as one hour bled into the next. Ambitions clashed with cherished childhood moments.

Unbidden, the feeling of a well-placed kick impacting frail flesh boiled up. Laxus clenched his eyes tightly and tried to drive what had happened earlier in the evening from his thoughts. ‘That girl was weak. The weak deserve to be kicked aside,’ he thought resolutely.

Yet still that sensation haunted him as he drifted into a very unrestful sleep.

 

At first, Old Ben wasn’t sure why he’d woken up. Then he heard them again. Three short sharp raps against the thick hardwood of his door, not panicked or particularly hard. They were nothing out of the ordinary, certainly nothing that would alarm anyone, despite the hour.

“Eh, not again,” the old man muttered as he walked to the front of his house. Sighing as he started to reach for the knob, he grumbled “seems like everyone’s coming here tonight.”

He opened the door and found himself staring up at a man dressed in a strange uniform. Black leather with a red flaring collar, yellow edging, and an odd insignia on the arm. A single word was written above it but Old Ben couldn’t quite read it without his glasses.

The stranger towered over him at more than six feet. His face was stern and resolute.

“Yes, can I help you?” the old man asked timidly.

Without a word, the young stranger punched his elder in the face, filling the air with a vicious snap of flesh and muscle being brutalized. Crumpling like a broken scarecrow, Old Ben was shoved back, so stunned by the sudden attack that he didn’t think to cry out for help.

Not that he could have called out anyway.

Old Ben couldn’t organize his thoughts enough to mange it.

His entire body was tingling with pain as he hit the floor.

“Out of the way, old man!” Jerid barked as he invaded the small house, surging forward past his crumpled victim.

In an instant, the front door was kicked shut and bolted tight.

Without another word, Jerid started kicking apart anything larger than a lunch box and ripping open every door he hadn’t closed himself. Terror stricken, Old Ben watched from the floor as his home was methodically torn apart.

Jerid was searching for something with absolute will. The more time he wasted without finding his prey, the more his eyes gleamed with rage.

Only after thoroughly demolishing every possible hiding place did he return to Old Ben. He grabbed the frail old man by the shoulders and heaved him up against a wall. They could both hear bones cracking along with plaster. Jerid’s nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply the odor of terror pouring from Old Ben. In a cold voice, the solider asked one simple question.

“Where are you hiding her?”

A dazed groan and a soft “huh?” was the best answer the old man could manage.

“Where’s the girl? I order you to tell me!” Jerid clenched a fist beneath Old Ben’s chin and glared at him.

Shaking in terror, Old Ben could only croak out “she’s dead!”

Jerid snorted. “Weak old man,” he sneered and tossed him aside.

He ran a hand across his blonde pompadour and unconsciously straightened his posture. Reaching into his strange form-fitting uniform, he pulled out an odd device and spoke into it. “Lieutenant Commander Jerid Messa to Titan’s outpost command with a status update. Confirmed via civilian witness that secondary objective has been achieved. We can proceed to Phase 2 immediately. Over.”

Jerid listened intently to his radio, nodding ever so slightly. “Yes, I’ve confirmed termination by interrogating a local who had contact with the girl. He doesn’t have the guts to lie to a Titan!” He stood a bit straighter and said, “over,” almost as an afterthought.

Static and further words poured out. Jerid’s brow furrowed. “No . . . I haven’t seen the body personally. Over.”

Even Old Ben could tell that whoever was on the other side of the strange communication wasn’t pleased. The instant the conversation switched back over to Jerid’s superior, a loud and commanding voice poured out in the room. It wasn’t overly loud or exactly angry but it wasn’t happy by any measure. The emotions were clear though Old Ben couldn’t make out the words.

Jerid’s expression clouded as he listened intently. “I see . . . . I understand, sir. From now on, I’ll expect more lies when conducting interrogations. I will proceed to verify the target’s termination personally once I have a location. Messa out.”

Huffing in aggravation, Jerid stuffed the radio back into his uniform and glared down at Old Ben, clenching trembling fists at his sides. “You think you can stand in the way of the Titans? You think you can get away with lying to an officer? Now,” he commanded quietly, his eyes narrowing to slits of hate, “you’re going to tell me where that girl is . . . eventually.”

As Jerid reached for Old Ben’s fingers, his elder could do nothing but look away.

 

* * *

 

A sea of Spirit eyes stared in silent uncertainty. The Celestial Spirit King hovered behind her as she spoke. The long explanation for their problems came to a close and everyone waited anxiously to hear her final words. Calmly, confidently, Yukari put her hands on her shapely hips and tilted her head to one side. “And that’s how it is,” she said smilingly, as if those words were the answer to all possible questions.

She’d hoped stating the situation warmly would help to calm them.

Unfortunately, her cheerful tone did nothing to alleviate even a fraction of the worries of the gathered Spirits. In fact, the opposite happened. Before her eyes, the unease among her audience grew into a muted cacophony. As several among the many began to actively whisper darkly, their eyes fixing her with accusatory stares, the others fell into deep silence and said nothing as Yukari was accused.

Many of the gathered Celestial Spirits, clearly less than convinced by her pronouncement, murmured uncertainly among themselves. All had listened quietly to every word Yukari had said, just as their King had asked of them, but few had any faith in her. Most were skeptical of her claims at best and convinced she was hiding far too many secrets at worst. Since she was neither human nor Spirit, a few felt uncertain as to whether they could trust her at all.

‘Ah, perhaps this will require a bit more finesse than I’d thought. Now then, how best to address their concerns?’ she thought as she tapped her foot very softly.

Standing out from the crowd, yet blending in as well, one thoughtful and handsome face caught Yukari’s eye. Although he was of merely average height for a male, something in his bearing gave an illusion of tallness. His body had the loose ease she associated with melee fighters while his facial features had a delicate quality. There was a hint of strength there too.

His spiky orange hair, which jutted out in many directions and framed his face like a jungle cat’s mane, gave him the air of a predator yet he exuded a sort of serenity. Even behind a pair of sunglasses, she caught a hint of clever sharpness in his eyes.

He reminded Yukari of her own shikigami Ran; a predator taming itself out of a sense of duty and honor. His strong and forceful personality was clearly mixed with an honorable fighter’s nature.

The combination was perfect for her plan to earn the Celestial Spirits’ trust.

His fashion sense left much to be desired but she decided not to hold that against him.

‘He’ll do nicely,’ she thought.

Pointing, she called out “you there, what is your name?”

The handsome Celestial Spirit glanced around himself. Others of his kind had, at Yukari’s words, quickly added space between him and themselves. Sighing, he shook his head and slipped his hands into his suit pockets. He struck a relaxed but practiced stance and, with a roguish smirk, he answered her.

“The name’s Loke . . . but you can call me ‘Leo the Lion’ while I’m here,” he said, watching her intensely from behind his azure-tinted sunglasses.

“Tell me, are you strong?”

Loke’s lips curled into a decidedly rough smile.

“I’m a combat Spirit by nature.”

“Oh ho! Then you’re _very_ strong?”

Folding his arms across his chest, Loke nodded firmly. “At the least, I’m sure I could handle any tantrums _you_ might throw.” As the bold words left his mouth, he subtly winked at her in the most inconspicuous way possible.

Yukari covered her pleased expression with her fan before anyone caught sight of it. ‘Good, he’s got it. A clever male is an auspicious find. Gensokyo has quite the deficit.’

Loudly, she said “truly? Well, I should not mind it if you keep me company for the time being, my new friend,” she turned toward the King and curtsied, “is he not satisfactory? It was your suggestion, my liege, that I should have a personal guide while I’m here in your realm.

It took but a fraction of a second’s hesitation, something few if any would notice, for the King to say, “why yes, I do believe that Leo the Lion is the perfect one to escort you around! Why, it will almost be as if I were there myself! Hahahahah!”

He spoke as if he’d planned this event all along.

The crowd of Spirits seemed visibly relieved at those words.

Yukari silently praised the King’s quick uptake on the situation.

‘Now they think their King is taking precautions in case I’m a danger. With one of their kind taking personal responsibility for dealing with me, the rest should calm down straight away,’ she thought with a chuckle. ‘Pointless theater but thus is politics!’

Smiling, Yukari fanned herself.

 

Not far from the gathering of Spirits, Virgo waited alone, thinking of the task she’d been assigned. She was kneeling, anticipating, and with every passing moment she was more certain that her cherished Princess would soon need her. Surrounded by countless whispering voices, she thought not about the crisis or what it meant for her kind or for all of Earthland.

She thought only of Lucy Heartfilia.

For most, an instinctual feeling of wrongness had begun many hours ago, but for Virgo it started with the voices. She’d heard them speak her keeper’s name but whatever meaning had been behind those strange fragmented sentences remained a mystery. Still, she suspected they were connected to the ‘incident’ as their new friend termed it. Though they’d sounded so faint and distant, as if they were echoing up from deep within a well, she couldn’t ignore them.

She’d heard them say her keeper’s name so clearly.

“Please be safe, Princess.” Virgo whispered as the world of Celestial Spirits broiled with uncertainty and unease.

“I’ll protect you,” she promised softly.

A soft pitter-patter of feet caught her attention. Glancing up, Virgo stared at Lyre as she breathlessly held out a clearly royal decree.

“The King has orders for you,” Lyre said almost apologetically.

 

“That might well have gone better or worse,” Yukari pronounced equivocally as she fiddled with her fan. Tracing the intricate designs with her fingers, leaning forward in her chair, she shrugged sadly. “Well, at least they seem to have calmed down for the time being. We may yet address this incident properly before panic returns.”

The gathering of Celestial Spirits had ended almost an hour before. Despite having been reassured by Yukari and their King, much remained to be done to earn their confidence.

For that reason, she sat beside Loke at the dining table of the Celestial Spirit King.

Or, more accurately, Yukari and Loke sat in chairs properly sized for them _on top_ of the Celestial Spirit King’s colossal dining table. They had a table of their own as well, which itself might have been considered quite grand were it not utterly dwarfed by the massive one it sat upon. Despite their difference in size, the tables were otherwise perfect twins, each made of finely crafted birch.

Platters of sliced fresh meat and aromatic cheeses were spread out over both tables efficiently. A slender maid, her wrists manacled with broken chains dangling, served them without a smile. Alongside the food, she set before them finely embroidered silk napkins, purest silver utensils, and engraved plates of solid gold, but never once did she meet their eyes.

Yukari found her appearance slightly concerning but it wasn’t her place to question another reality’s use of slavery nor to make suggestions that there might be better ways of obtaining loyal service.

There were far more important things to discuss than local social issues.

“Well now, let’s talk over this matter properly then,” Yukari said with a forced smile as the chained maid presented her with a tall glass of wine.

She hesitated for a moment before accepting it and sipping it down to two-thirds empty.

The Celestial Spirit King inclined his head toward Yukari. “Yes, of course. There are some matters we’ve yet to fully discuss regarding this ‘incident’ as you like to call it. First, your ability to travel between realities . . . you said others possess it?” He looked to her expectantly.

Yukari nodded carefully. “Indeed, there are at least three other portal users. Only one is my ally. I feel confident that one of the other two is the culprit.”

Loke tapped the table and caught their attention. “Not to be blunt, but do we have _any_ real reason to trust you, Miss Yakumo?”

“Please, just call me Yukari,” she said with a teasing smile.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

The King chuckled heartily. “You speak the truth Leo . . . but her lack of alibi is itself reason enough to trust her. What folly would it be for the culprit to appear before me without an explanation! Does Yukari seem a fool to you?”

Loke mulled that over for a moment.

Eventually, he sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest, satisfied.

“Though I am no fool,” Yukari purred, “I do think summarizing events before I arrived would be of use to focus this conversation.”

The King nodded, his expression heavy. “Yes, perhaps you are correct.”

He looked to Loke and received a respectful nod.

“Not long ago, I sensed a strange power being used in our realm,” the King continued darkly, “and when I called for Leo, I learned that he and many others had sensed it as well. In fact, only one of my subjects so far reports not sensing this phenomena.”

The maid refilled Yukari’s wine glass with a respectful bow.

“Very shortly after the first signs, something terrible happened; something we Celestial Spirits must correct! As the same power was soon used twice more in Earthland, the problem only grew worse.” He fixed Yukari with a stern look. “We’ve been brooding and restless ever since this began!”

His big blank white eyes sparkled. Sipping her wine, Yukari couldn’t help but smile sympathetically, even as she glanced sidelong at the manacled maid.

“Your appearance,” the King grinned, “revealed part of the truth behind our dilemma! This ‘portal’ ability’s use was what we sensed. Clearly, if you’re story is true, the cause of our crisis is related to this power. Whether you share it with three, or if it is yours alone, that is something I can only leave to faith at this time. I want to believe you . . . though I take a risk in doing so.”

Yukari nodded and closed her eyes. “Your majesty, I as well am taking a risk. However powerful I am, I am also but a solitary stranger in your kingdom. Whatever my fate, I can but entrust myself to your care, for I cannot stand alone against an army. I’ve learned that lesson.”

Crossing his enormous arms over his armored breastplate, the King said “wise and beautiful. You are a true lady in every respect.” He gave her another respectful bow of his head before sitting up straight. Fixing Loke first with his powerful gaze, then Yukari, he spoke in the voice of one who carried the weight of countless lives on his broad shoulders.

“Our problem is clear: the flow of time here in the Celestial Spirit World has become fixed with that of Earthland.”

Yukari once more noted that phrasing meant time normally operated on a different flow in this realm than in this ‘Earthland’ place he spoke of. She had been surprised to learn that a similar phenomena existed between Gensokyo and the ‘true reality’ in which she’d meet Arjay and Alice. She wondered if it was the same between any two realities.

“As this event occurred recently there have yet to be casualties,” the King continued, “unfortunately, they will inevitably come if nothing is done. My subjects have already begun to panic over the results of the temporal shift. The side effects could be disastrous!”

Tilting her head to one side, Yukari put a finger to her chin. “How so exactly? Will your subjects be called too often?”

The King shook his head.

“No, the situation is far more dire. Were the results of the flow of time synchronizing limited to that, we could adapt. A day here should be the equal of three months Earthland time. Some of my subjects are summoned many times during one of our days and a few spend considerable time in the human realm. One all but lives there.”

Loke coughed and stretched.

The King’s expression grew stark.

“Unfortunately, with the flow of time synchronized the magic binding us to humans has shattered. To make matters still worse it is becoming increasingly difficult to move between realms. Soon, we will all be trapped here.” He paused to let those words sink in.

“My subjects are frightened. Many have already refused to go to the side of their celestial wizard allies to explain the situation while others are simply unable. Those who wish to try are still suffering for they cannot hope to properly remake their contracts until this crisis is over.” Clasping his hands at his chin, he almost seemed ready to say a prayer, but instead he made a stark proclamation.

“The fate of every celestial wizard is balanced on the edge of a knife.”

“So it really is that bad, huh,” Loke muttered as he stared at his hands, his eyes distant.

Leaning forward, Yukari picked up her knife and fork, preparing to tease her food. “I believe, given the circumstances, your order was quite proper.”

The King sighed and shook his head. “To order everyone to remain here regardless of their wishes . . . I am worried that this situation could be a prelude of sorts. There is a wrongness about it all that confounds me. The guiding hand behind this may yet be further hidden than we suspect.”

“To deceive your enemies, first deceive your allies,” Yukari whispered.

Loke smirked.

Chuckling, the King beamed a great grin at Loke.

“Excellent acting! I commend your quick thinking.” He nodded toward his subject and crossed his arms. “Of course, I regret that it was needed at all. My subjects should be more trusting of our new acquaintance.”

Yukari looked far up at the King. Shrugging, she said “it can’t be helped,” as she sliced meat carefully into bite-size pieces. When she popped a morsel into her mouth, it almost seemed to melt, and savory juice spilled down her chin before she realized it. Hastily snatching a silk napkin up to dab at her face, she blushed and murmured “this meal is divine,” before quickly stabbing a larger piece of meat with her fork.

Loke frowned and tapped a finger against one of his hands. His shoulders were slumped forward yet he was anything but relaxed. Out of chivalrous kindness, he waited for Yukari to take another bite and purr over the quality of the meat, before he asked a single question.

“How long do we have?”

The King was silent.

Reluctantly setting aside fork and knife, Yukari pondered the question as she again wiped her mouth with silk. Licking her lips, she tilted her head, thoughtfully saying “it depends.”

“On what?” Loke asked.

“On the nature of Drosselmeyer’s objective,” Yukari said tersely. “It is quite clear to me that he’s behind this. This Penemuel demon I’ve been dealing with is far too arrogant to remain silent as to its role and the other one . . . is the least likely to act of all. Whatever schemes it has are likely focused on manipulating its pawn.”

Leaning in, Loke spoke in a questioning tone. “This other pawn, he’s an unknown unknown. We know he’s the ‘pawn’ of the other demon but what does that really mean?” He raised an eyebrow. “Could he be doing this?”

“Or she. I’m not sure of the other one’s gender.”

“I doubt that person is responsible,” The King interjected suddenly.

Both Yukari and Loke quickly stretched their necks to stare at him.

“If they are meant to be pawns,” the King continued, “in this game between accursed demons, and if the demons refer to the various realities in which the game is taking place as a ‘game board,’ then it seems to me that the pawns will be set up far apart from each other.”

“Ah!” Yukari hopped up from her seat. “You’re right! Then if Arjay is here-”

“-the other pawn isn’t,” the King finished succinctly.

Loke smiled and made a little noise of agreement.

“Further,” the King said softly, “I believe you must consider the possibility that there are still others with this ‘portal power.’ In fact, if am correct about the setting up of the pieces for the game, then you must know it is no mere possibility _but absolute truth_.”

Yukari’s heart skipped a beat as she sat. “You believe so?”

“I do,” he said firmly. “Who is to say that these demons cannot grant this power _repeatedly_ to any number of people that act as their game pieces? It might even be so that their pawns can grant the power to subordinates that would then serve as additional playing pieces for their masters or, perhaps, even as their own pieces.”

Her face pale, Yukari gently pushed her plate away. “That . . . is not a pleasant thought.”

“Totally not,” Loke said quietly.

“Yet it may be the shape of things,” the King said somberly. “Four times has this power been used. The first was here and began this trouble. Then twice in Earthland. Finally, once more here. Obviously you,” he pointed at Yukari, “are the fourth one to use it. If one of the other three is your friend, then that is two users we can identify. We also know that he’s in Earthland since you say he was injured.”

She nodded at his words, her eyes filled with concern.

The King rubbed his chin. “I doubt an injured person could so easily cause this incident. Therefore, we can reasonably rule him out for now. Logically, one of these portal users could very well be this Drosselmeyer character, particularly if you are correct about him being the culprit behind our troubles.”

Yukari smiled serenely. “I have no doubts as to that.”

“Then that raises the question of the remaining user’s identity.”

Loke let out a rumbling sigh and nibbled on a thick slice of meat. “If they aren’t one of these ‘pawns’ then they’re probably another type of ‘piece.’”

“Then you think this game of demons akin to chess?” Yukari asked uncertainly.

“Nah, I’d expect it’s more like shogi and probably, at the same time, extremely simple.”

Yukari gave him an odd look.

“What I’m saying is this,” he gestured with his hand, “the game has infinitely complex ways that it can be played but, at the same time, the pieces and how they work is actually very easy to understand.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Yukari offered. “What little that demon told me about Arjay’s powers and how the game is played _was_ quite simple. At the time, I thought it was lying by omission because it didn’t trust me with all of the details. I’m still partial to that hypothesis but perhaps it actually _can_ be honest.”

Leaning forward, folding her hands together under her chin, Yukari closed her eyes.

“If it is as you think it is, then there will be more pieces on the game board soon if one is not already acting as our unknown portal user. According to Penemuel, pawns can have friends.”

Loke snorted. “Friends? The bastard was _that_ vague?”

“It means the pawn can anoint others with the portal power,” the King thundered.

“We cannot be certain of that meaning,” Yukari countered quickly.

“As it would be a worst case scenario, I shall believe it is true unless proven otherwise.” The King’s words hung over them all like a great sword.

Silence fell over the table.

It was not broken again for some time.

  
“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”  
-Niccolo Machiavelli

 

End of Chapter One

Next Chapter: First Blood


	2. First Blood

In the beginning, there was a deep darkness surpassing all his memories. His eyes, if he did have eyes, were too heavy lidded to move. His body, if it existed, was absently numb. His thoughts formed slowly, as if he were physically drawing out each mental picture with heavily weighted limbs.

Trying to remember himself was yet harder still. The broken fragments of his recent memories bore painfully jagged edges. Each time he tried to piece them together, searing white-hot pain blasted through him to the very core of his existence.

Ironically, it was this pain that proved to him his body’s own existence.

Fearful of the dark, wanting to see again, he gathered every scrap of his strength. With sheer will and unimaginable force, he made a miracle happen.

He opened one eye. Slightly. It was a squint rather than a stare.

The revealed world was a dancing darkness, blurred patterns of light ever shifting.

With tremendous effort, he tried to focus. The images sharpened, if only a little.

He could make out tall blobs of dark colors. They were moving, streaming by as if on a conveyor belt. It was such a surreal sight that he puzzled over it for what seemed an eternity. Before insanity could claim him, he realized the truth. _He_ was being carried.

A piercing ache struck suddenly in every part of him. It infused him inch by inch, washed over him, through him. What remained was a chill numbness that drained his spirit of whatever slight hope he’d mistakenly allowed to infest him. The pain nearly blotted out all consciousness. He had to think around it, to struggle against the tide of suffering. He clung to the only other sensations he knew: genuine cold and at the same time a painful fever.

The paradox was too much for him to process. Still, he understood the pain, and as everything else was unclear, uncertain, he used his pain to find himself.

He first visualized the pain running throughout his body. Closing his eye, he formed a picture of himself drawn in shades of red and yellow. Streaks of painful color shot throughout his body. Every ache, each suffering throb, drew an outline.

Torment that stretched from the base of his throbbing neck and across his back gave him his height: a few inches shy of six feet. His overly sensitive skin’s irritation from the air informed him of his nudity. Aches in his sides that looped and twisted about his chest and abdomen confirmed that he was out of shape and overweight.

Lumpy fat shook as he was carried through the streets. Embarrassed, he was grateful for the darkness, and somehow that made him want to laugh and cry. A dull sense of emptiness struck him but it was less a physical sensation than one of emotion. As he had countless times before, he pushed it away and once again accepted that his reality was fraught with suffering.

Through his anguish he could see himself clearly and all of it proved he was alive. He’d learned long ago that living was suffering.

It was within that familiar acceptance that he finally found himself.

Though exhausted, he tried to open his eye again but couldn’t. His muscles were worn and he couldn’t stop himself from tumbling into the darkness within, the pit of sleep welcoming. As the dark silence sought to take him, he anchored himself to one simple fact.

Someone cared enough to carry him.

He drifted off into darkness wondering why.

 

Flying beside his partner Natsu, and paying close attention to their naked cargo, Happy noticed the stranger’s body go limper than before. The eye that had, for a brief moment, flickered ever so slightly open slid shut again with a sense of finality. Happy frowned uncertainly.

“Hey, Natsu?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I think he’s dead.”

When Natsu heard that, he immediately screeched to a halt, almost losing his grip as momentum tried to slide the Naked Man off his shoulder. Quickly, the Dragon Slayer set him down and started checking his vitals.

“Seriously?! We’re almost to the clinic!”

Natsu’s voice was unsettled and his skin pale. Trembling slightly, he pressed a hand over his stomach and groaned. It hadn’t been all that long ago that he’d fought in the Tower of Heaven. He’d poisoned himself with ether nano to gain an advantage against his opponent then but he was paying for it now. Even a powerful wizard like himself had limits.

His were fast approaching.

Still, Natsu put himself second and checked for the stranger’s pulse while putting an ear close to his mouth to listen for a breath.

Happy gave Natsu an odd look. “Maybe we shouldn’t be stopping.”

As soon as he knew the Naked Man was still alive, Natsu gritted his teeth and scooped him back up. Knowing his flying blue-cat buddy was right, he kicked off hard, exploding down the street in a burst of raw speed that might have been slightly jet-propelled.

“If that’s what you think why’re you distracting me?!”

“Just thought you should know,” Happy replied cheerfully.

 

Lucy Heartfilia considered herself to be a decent celestial wizard, an average member of the Fairy Tail guild, and, at times, the universe’s chew toy.

At the moment, she was someone who wanted a break from the seemingly endless mad parade of her life. It had taken a turn for the absurd _yet again_. There had been fire and smoke and _nakedness_. She’d seen a wild display of magic that baffled her. Whatever caused it, and for what purpose, that remained a mystery to be solved.

“Soooo exhausting,” Lucy grumbled to herself as she started cleaning up her apartment. After the fires Natsu caused, plus the water she’d splashed around, it needed a good cleaning.

That was mostly an excuse though.

The stench of smoke still lingered in the air as Lucy started cleaning carefully, her nose unconsciously wrinkling. The faintly acrid scent brought memories of fire and madness back to her more clearly than anything else could. Even as she steadily swept up ashes, dumping them repeatedly, her mind couldn’t help but race. Without a break, she cleaned and performed the same repetitive motions over and over, her thoughts churning all the while with baffled concern.

Not long ago, Natsu had left her apartment with the Naked Man. Burned and broken, the stranger had dropped into Lucy’s bathtub from some bizarre magical phenomena. She couldn’t begin to guess why it happened, wasn’t sure about reporting it, and had no clue what it meant.

‘What kind of magic was that anyway?’ she wondered, absently massaging her aching shoulders. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it before.’

That display of prismatic energy, as if the sparks of light were reflections of creation itself, concerned her the most. What kind of wizard could wield magic like that? As a **Sorcerer’s Weekly** devotee, she was embarrassed that she couldn’t think of any likely suspects no matter how much she puzzled over the facts.

The night had yielded far too many questions without answers.

Lucy knew she would simply shrug it off eventually. More insanity would surely pile up. She envied the everyday wizard sometimes. For most, a night like this would have been the end of the first, and likely last, truly insane event in their life.

Even so, she couldn’t quite let this particular crazy event go, at least not yet. Her thoughts kept returning to the stranger.

If someone had asked her why she kept thinking about him, she could give only one answer: a gnawing certainty that something was very wrong and an equally strong feeling that he knew critical information about the source of that wrongness.

Lucy felt a looming foreboding hanging over Magnolia like ever-darkening storm clouds. It wasn’t a premonition exactly but something close to it; instinct perhaps. She couldn’t put this particular insanity behind her with that feeling in her heart.

It was her nervous unease that drove her to dust and whisk her furniture in frustration.

She was done cleaning before she felt like she’d even begun to think over the broader situation. The mysterious naked visitor’s appearance had actually left little evidence to prove it had even happened. Her flame-wielding friend had himself caused most of the scorching and burning, though fortunately it was all very minor.

Nothing irreplaceable had been lost.

Not yet anyway.

Despite not having nearly enough time to puzzle out the mystery of the Naked Man, all in all, Lucy did consider herself lucky. None of her friends were hurt, she was fine, and the damage to her apartment was minimal. The rent was troublesome enough without adding repair costs.

Feeling a bit overheated, she stripped completely before plopping down onto her bed. Needing a moment’s rest from her busy hands and busier thoughts, Lucy sighed in exhausted annoyance as the cool air teased the bare skin of her breasts. “What the heck was that all about anyway?” she questioned the universe with futile hope for reply.

Laying flat, she stretched her arms over her head, then pulled her sheets up. Arching her back slightly, breasts pointing perkily as she stared up at the ceiling, she tried to get comfortable. As always, her chest felt a bit heavy in that position so she quickly turned to one side. They still felt a little heavy but she’d accepted that moderate discomfort a long time ago. Sighing, then yawning, Lucy pressed her face into her pillow.

A hint of something besides acrid smoke caught her nose’s attention: the lingering traces of a certain Salamander’s soothing scent.

His warm aroma tempted her senses as she curled into the fetal position, tucking knees and legs tight against her ample chest. Burying her nose in her pillow, nuzzling it tightly against her face, she let the last of Natsu’s transferred warmth and scent comfort her.

“Why do weird things only seem to happen to me?” she wondered out loud as she filled her senses with the last bit of Natsu left in her bedroom. “Am I some kind of weirdo magnet? Am I cursed or is it my fate?”

Lucy yawned again and rolled over, wrapping herself in her sheets, the absurdity of the recent hour finally getting to her. Though it hadn’t been her hardest day ever, she was tired and worn from more than just the unexpected visitor.

Lately, she’d been worrying about her rent, her lack of love life, and an irritating case of persistent writer’s block.

She had a life outside of magical shenanigans after all.

Tempted into slumber’s welcoming embrace, Lucy had barely started to drift down into sleep when something on her desk caught her eye. The moonlight cascaded in on it through the open window, drawing her gaze in an instant, as if a celestial spotlight had been purposely aimed at it. At the center of that light was an unfamiliar parchment flyer scroll of some sort.

Ordinarily, she probably would have checked it out. But Lucy, groaning with irritable tiredness, simply turned over and faced the wall. She doubted it was important.

“Stupid cat probably left some stupid flyer about a stupid fish restaurant again,” Lucy mumbled as she steadily drifted further and deeper down.

As sleep claimed her, the night closed in, clouds passing over the moon to cast her bedroom into darkness. A man’s muffled curse outside her window barely made her shift positions as he grumbled about “the canon.” In the darkness, Lucy slept quietly, clinging to her sheets and breathing in their kind scent. Her lips formed a peaceful smile as visions of happy adventures floated through her sweet dreams.

The Miss Fairy Tail Contest flyer sat unread.

 

* * *

 

Drosselmeyer glanced through one of his crystal mirrors into Lucy’s bedroom. “Hmm, I think this one has potential as a heroine. Her flaws might keep things interesting. Could she be a love interest too? Ah, speaking of love!” He turned away and snapped a finger. Another mirror formed from the shadows and displayed another bedroom. “Oh, so they’re still brooding and helpless? Bah, I expected more from Princess Tutu and my kinsman knight.”

After musing over the mirror for but a moment, his face twisted into a gargoyle grin.

“How wonderfully _tragic_ to see them like this! A brace of main characters reduced to mere bit players before the curtain’s rising on their final act! So delightfully tragic . . . yet there’s something lacking in this scenario.”

Shaking his head, the old phantom yawned and stretched out in his golden throne. Propping a leg up on the armrest, he bent backwards to stare up at the ceiling. “Odd, I think I might feel slightly . . . _guilty_ about it all.”

He sighed and scratched at his head. “Hmph! What nonsense! A writer owes nothing to characters who refuse to play their roles properly. I crafted a perfectly miserable plot to bring out their deepest despair and what thanks did I receive for it? None, not a single word.”

Even as he spoke, his eyes drifted back toward the mirror that showed Duck and Fakir.

“Well, perhaps they shall yet play some sort of important role,” Drosselmeyer grumbled cheerlessly. “It’s not as if I’ve planned out every single detail of this story and I doubt _she_ has either.” He sprang to his feet and grinned maniacally, staring wide-eyed at the mirror displaying Lucy’s sleeping face. Licking his lips, he drew closer and stared intensely as she rolled around in her sleep, exposing tiny glimpses of milky white skin. “Oh, but she’s quite lovely indeed! Ah, to be young again!” He laughed and took out a quill. Bloody ink dripped from the tip as he pointed it at Lucy.

“Yes, I’ve made my decision! I shall turn you into the love interest whether you like it or not!” he cackled. “Let’s toss out that silly outline! Why ride a railroad when you can dance in the sky like a frolicking fairy?”

“Rules,” came a raspy voice directly behind his ear.

A wave of cold washed over Drosselmeyer. An overwhelming presence stunned his senses and filled his thoughts. Every hair on his body stood straight up. Each of his nerves tingled faintly, as if they were being traced by a razor’s edge. A pair of skeletal hands gripped his shoulders from behind without warning. His good cheer fell away and he was overcome by an immense feeling of overwhelming hostility.

The cloaked figure of the red-eyed wraith slithered silently past him yet its cold touch remained on his shoulders. Even as it came to stand before him, the pressure from its seemingly frail yet infinitely powerful fingertips continued to dig into Drosselmeyer’s skin. It threatened to crack his bones when it shouldn’t have been there at all. He dared not turn his head to see how the demon had managed this trick.

Fear had claimed Drosselmeyer. There was no bargaining with, no reasoning with, and certainly no defying this immense power. Its terrible will would be done.

His commissioner had never shown him such a side before.

‘Does he suspect me? Has he realized what I was planning?’ Drosselmeyer’s mind raced furiously as sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

“Almost broke the rules,” the demon whispered carefully.

There was no time to write. No time at all. He had but one chance to avoid the premature ending of his own personal story.

Drosselmeyer gulped and let out his held breath slowly. His thoughts flowed easily. A river of lies of poured through his consciousness but out of pure instinct he chose to act with truth. He faced his demon.

“Oh, er, did I? Me? I almost broke the rules?” he asked in a voice cracking from fear.

“Yes.”

“P-p-pardon me, my dear commissioner, and I assure you it shall not happen again.”

“No,” the demon rasped and Drosselmeyer at first thought he might be at his story’s end after all. Then he felt his shoulders slowly warm, the cold ache receding, and knew the demon’s actual meaning.

He’d been forgiven.

The wraith held out an enormously thick book. It was, as Drosselmeyer remembered, the demon’s most precious possession.

Its intent was obvious.

“Are you quite serious?” Drosselmeyer asked uncertainly. His orange eyes narrowed to slits. His strict stare was fixed on his demon master but he drew back as it leaned in close enough to fuel ten-thousand nightmares.

“Yes,” the demon whispered. It held out the thick tome that eclipsed most encyclopedia. Reluctantly, Drosselmeyer accepted the book but his face made it clear he didn’t want it. The moment it was safely in his hands, his demon’s eyes gleamed like bloody rubies.

It hissed a single word, “read,” before vanishing again into the shadows.

Feeling a sudden need to do something else, yet being trapped by his own practical wisdom, Drosselmeyer begrudgingly opened the huge book. As he read, he grew increasingly bored. The dull passages had been written in dry language so legalistic that it would boggle even a lawyerly mind. While he could appreciate the tricks used to hide his commissioner’s true plans for this game, seeing them rendered as subordinate clauses in subparagraphs of subparagraphs rendered the whole thing a bloodless bland banality of boredom.

Shortly after he’d begun reading the twenty-ninth footnote to an endnote, Drosselmeyer passed through the valley of boredom, visited the lovely doldrums of despair, and finally found himself stranded in the limitless infinity of ennui. He wished he could be defiant but obedience, while not absolutely necessary for fulfilling his outline, was far more expedient than rebellion.

‘Until the egg is stabilized, I cannot risk defiance,’ he thought pragmatically. “I’m in no rush,” he said out loud to himself. “The fairy dance can wait. Train rides can be amusing too. Certainly more so than this book.”

Yawning, Drosselmeyer had his hands fetch him a pillow.

The rule book made for poor reading. It was suitable only for curing terminal insomnia.

While he prepared to take a nap to escape the rule reading, a small figure watched him from behind an enormous clockwork gear. She held vigil as Drosselmeyer settled in his throne, somehow making it recline despite its apparent solid rigidity. A tiny gasp slipped from her wooden lips before she clamped her hands over her mouth.

Unnoticing, Drosselmeyer stretched and put his feet up on his desk, yawning. He continued to read from the rule book for a few minutes longer but soon he caught himself reading the same passage for a fourth time. He let one of his severed hands float the book over to his cluttered desk and carefully set it down.

Letting out a long yawn, he settled into his reclined throne and closed his bulbous eyes.

The little girl waited patiently. Only when the writer began to snore did the she dash out into the open. In the silent darkness, her small footfalls seemed thunderous echos, but somehow she reached her goal without waking the writer.

Carefully, leaping and seizing the golden teeth, she used a clockwork to reach the top of Drosselmeyer’s desk. Tumbling onto it, she quickly searched the desktop for anything of value, but found nothing but scattered bits of paper with dozens of unreadable scratched out lines and the massive book of rules.

His quills and ink were in a closed top drawer but she knew that they weren’t useful to anyone but him.

The things he could do with them were terrifying.

She knew. She’s seen.

‘What should I do? What _can_ I do-zura?’

Her mind raced as the risk she was taking suddenly hit her.

“There’s only one thing to do-zura.” She took a deep breath and balled her hands into fists. Kneeling down, she gripped the enormous rule book with her tiny fingers.

With an adorable grunt of childish effort, she strained with every splinter of her strength to lift it, but barely managed to raise it on its spine. For a moment, she froze, but then a resolute light filled her eyes. Trembling, she wrapped her arms around the book completely and half-dragged, half-carried it to the desktop’s edge.

She looked down with a shiver. “I can’t jump from here-zura,” she whispered to herself.

Searching, she spotted a crystal mirror that was about even with her eyes. Getting close, she gazed into its depths, thinking of her friends. An image formed, hazy but still obviously of an orange-haired girl. “Uh huh! That’s Duck alright-zura!”

Nodding as if this discovery were a grand accomplishment, she got closer to the crystal mirror and pressed the book against its shimmery surface. Like a spoon sliding into gelatin it slipped inside with a faint PLOMP. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Drosselmeyer.

“Uzura is going to do her best-zura,” she vowed quietly before diving wholly into the mirror, taking the book with her.

 

* * *

 

Yukari stared at the cardinal in the cage.

It seemed out of place hanging on the wall across from her. The Celestial Spirit King’s sumptuous guest suite, like much of his realm, was decorated mainly with astrological symbols. This one painting was of a completely different style, as if someone had tucked it in for her eyes only, and it bothered Yukari.

Lying languorously on a chaise lounge, filled with restless thoughts, she found herself fixated on it. Absently, she wrapped her arms around herself. A faint sense of unease caressed her thoughts.

A long sigh slid from Yukari’s lips as they twisted into a deep frown.

It wasn’t that she hated the painting, she felt strongly that such depth of emotion was wasted on mere art, but she couldn’t say that her heart was stirred by it either.

At least not in the way the artist likely intended.

The deep shades of red used for the cardinal made her think of a certain shrine maiden. Thick brush strokes had rendered an avian with an oddly surly expression. The bird’s sharp eyes seemed reproachful. Yukari couldn’t quite meet their false stare.

Then there was the birdcage’s golden hues which made her nostalgically homesick. She had often thought of what would eventually become Gensokyo as a cage. Throughout the many years she’d spent within the boundaries of that land, she’d never truly resented being a prisoner, not until the day a human priest offered her a chance to exchange her dreary cage for a more luxurious one.

Of all men, he had been precious to her. Not as a lover, nor even as a friend, but as the first human to ever offer her the hand of unity.

After so many years, now having the metaphorical keys to her own gilded cage kingdom, Yukari felt lucky to have been kept prisoner long enough to have that fateful encounter. From that point on, her life had changed in countless ways, the greatest of which was how filled with human emotion she’d become. It was all because of that one human’s kindness to a youkai.

Yukari stared at the cardinal in the cage.

The painting made her worry for Reimu’s sake. Her beloved was still inside that cage, waiting for her, and very much alone. Yet, while Yukari didn’t want her to be lonely, the thought that she might be having fun with someone else left her feeling vaguely depressed. Far worse, what if Reimu’s affections were shifting to another?

“I hate you,” she grumbled at the painting unsure who the words were truly meant for.

Other than the choice of art, she couldn’t fault the lavish decor of her room. Her accommodations were spacious, the furniture exquisitely crafted from the finest wood, and there was even an en suite. She planned to enjoy a long soaking bath soon . . . but for now, she couldn’t quite manage to force herself back off the lounge.

Yawning, she lay back and closed her eyes, losing herself in a sea of rough thoughts.

‘Was I right to leave?’ she wondered carelessly. ‘Was I? It wasn’t a selfish whim but could I have made a mistake?’

She felt a dull ache in her chest and a tightness in her stomach.

‘Perhaps I was hasty to leave Gensokyo. What good can I even do when I don’t know the plot of this world? I’ve met characters, and they seem important, but _why_ are they so? Are they heroes, villains, or mere side dishes to the main characters?’

“And as for me,” Yukari whispered to herself aloud, “am I a true player in this demons’ game or am I but a glorified part of the audience? Can I even know the answer?”

Sighing, she turned on her side, and stared at another painting across the room. This one was of a constellation of brilliant stars in the sky. Below them stood a woman with golden hair, her hands held out as if to welcome them home, her smile as kind as the oceans were vast.

A melancholic expectation filled Yukari until she closed her eyes and yawned again.

‘I wonder still, what do you truly think of me, my most beloved Reimu?’

That thought lingered as she began to drift away.

“How long are you going to laze about anyway? What are you, a sea lion?”

She sat up quickly, restraining herself enough to appear hurried but unconcerned. Loke’s sudden question had caught Yukari slightly off-guard since she’d been on the verge of nodding off. Still, she marveled that he’d managed to get inside her room without her even sensing his presence. ‘Am I already so trustful of him . . . or is he simply stealthy?’ she wondered to herself as she tried to think of a response with some degree of elegance.

“What? Oh, uh . . . .”

Her racing mind stumbled over the answer quickly enough.

Smiling at him, she said “I was actually focusing my ability using a meditative technique I learned from a very wise Chinese youkai. Remarkable talent for gate-guarding that one.”

‘The best lies are liberally mixed with truth,’ she thought sneakily.

Raising an eyebrow of doubt, Loke started to say something, then he paused. After a few seconds, he shrugged and held out a long tube of rolled up paper, which Yukari took after a moment’s hesitation.

“And this would be?”

“A map,” Loke said simply. He smiled, baring sharp teeth, and held up a clenched fist. “I figured we should try to determine where the enemy might be hiding as soon as possible. I’ve come up with a few ideas, and assuming whoever is behind this is still hanging around, I think we can hit most of these places before morning in Earthland. If we work quickly, that is.”

With a gesture, Yukari got a bemused Loke to pull a small table closer to her lounge. Carefully spreading the map open, she stared down while trying not to yawn visibly. It was a losing battle but she wasn’t one to give up easily.

“Here,” Loke said as he jabbed a finger at the map, “is where I think we should start.”

Yukari pulled out her fan and hid her mouth behind it a second before embarrassment struck. In as enthusiastic a voice as she could manage after quite the grand yawn, she said “ah, indeed? Why there?”

“Well, there aren’t a lot of abandoned buildings in the Celestial Spirit World. This area fell out of fashion a few years back for some reason or another. Spirits started moving out in droves.” Shrugging, Loke crossed his arms and leaned against the far wall. “There are several villages and half of them are completely abandoned. It’s a lot of ground to cover but it’s also the only logical place strangers could go and remain hidden for long.”

Looking down at the map, Yukari rubbed her chin as she quickly memorized the layout.

“Also,” she glanced up at Loke’s voice, “there’s another reason I thought we should check this area out.”

“Oh?”

His expression was reluctant but, after a moment, Loke quietly grumbled “there’s this weird rumor going around . . . that a huge bird was seen there just after everything started.”

A dark smile formed on Yukari’s face as she nodded in understanding. Thinking of the first and tastiest bird she could, she stood up and slipped her fan back into her pocket. “Well then,” she said ambitiously, “let us hope tonight’s menu includes duck!”

Somewhere far away, in another universe entirely, a girl with orange hair sneezed.

 

* * *

 

Out past the edge of the human village, but still a fair walk from the Forest of Magic, a certain store awaits brave customers. Unlike the neat and tidy second-hand shop Kirisame-ya, or the traditional book lender Suzunaan, this particular shop always surprised its customers. Those willing to endure their lesser peer’s jeers to patronize it could find many a mysterious item.

Known as Kourindou, the shop was perpetually surrounded and filled by the detritus of the outside world. While each fantastically mundane object was _technically_ offered for sale, there seemed to be neither rhyme nor reason in their arrangement, and customers were as likely to find a scattering of jarred mushrooms as they were a needful thing. Kourindou never quite managed to present itself as a proper store compared to its contemporaries.

Perhaps it _was_ more like a very eccentric museum than a shop, as the villagers tended to joke, or a particularly avant-garde art project.

There was some truth in the humor. Rinnosuke Morichika, live-in owner and sole proprietor, kept the most interesting items tucked away for himself. While many wares _were_ offered for sale few customers bought them as fewer still could consistently pry anything away from him. The eccentric shopkeeper seemed content to keep his assorted treasures to himself.

The shop wasn’t what anyone expected, and while its owner wasn’t particularly normal, few of the villagers truly disliked it or him.

A handful of less-than-charitable souls cursed him as the “half-breed bastard spawn” but never where they might be overheard. As gentle as the breeze normally was around Kourindou, it was still enough to carry the loathsome words of fools to the proprietor’s ears along with other village gossip.

Especially, it seemed, when he needed something juicy to exchange for kerosene.

As the sun began sinking toward the horizon, a short youkai girl with white hair and small wings nervously kneaded fistfuls of her black dress, her eyes fixed on Kourindou’s entrance. She’d been standing there for quite some time, having first arrived while the sun was high overhead. By this point, she’d become very familiar with the waving tanuki statute beside the entrance. In fact, she’d been practicing her haggling skills against it for most of the day.

She was lucky to still have her wallet.

Trying to summon every drop of courage in her tiny body, she took a deep breath and stared down the tanuki the same way she planned to stare down Kourindou’s proprietor.

“This time for sure,” she muttered as she held her clenched fists to her face.

Abruptly, a powerful wind blew in from behind her, almost sending the small girl flying.

Turning around, her eyes went wide at the sight of Marisa spinning her flying broom like a weightless baton.

“Alright! Not a bad landin’ at all!” Marisa said with a giddy grin. Slinging her broom over her right shoulder, she laughed to herself as she turned toward Kourindou. A hint of frilly black cloth disappearing behind the smiling tanuki statute caught her eye. She froze.

“Huh? Where have I . . . .”

Marisa had to think carefully for a moment but then she remembered.

“Eh? Tokiko?!” she cried out incredulously. “Ya _still_ haven’t given up?!”

A horned head popped out from behind the tanuki’s fat body.

“No,” Tokiko said in a small soft voice.

Marisa massaged her forehead with a sigh. “Suit yerself but I thought I made myself crystal last time.”

With a sudden grin, the magician reached into one of the many pockets of her black dress and drew her most treasured possession. She brandished the magic tool menacingly, her eyes sparkling with pride, as battle’s thrill sent tingles racing from the tips of her fingers to her most precious depths.

The mini-Hakkero gleamed in the sun’s dying rays.

Tokiko drew back in abject horror, raising her hands to shield herself, her back flattening against Kourindou’s front wall.

“EEP!!”

“Ain’t gonna hold back at all! Get ready shorty!” At the very moment Marisa was about to unleash one of her spell cards-

WHAP! “Stop that!” WHAP!!

-someone struck the side of her head twice with a rolled up newspaper!

“Bad Marisa, down girl,” said a stern voice from beside her as she almost dropped her precious magic tool in the rush to protect her stinging scalp. Turning, Marisa’s face went slightly red at the sight of an irritated-looking Rinnosuke squinting at her.

Glaring at him defiantly to cover up her quickening pulse, she ground her teeth and shouted “OW! Hey, now that sneaky attack wasn’t even close to fair, Kourin!”

Staring into his soft golden eyes, she saw a twinkle of amusement in the sea of reproach.

Rinnosuke smirked and crossed his arms. “I have a feeling the young Miss Tokiko might share your sentiments regarding proper balance in violent games.”

Marisa rolled her eyes. “Aw, I wasn’t _really_ goin’ to go all out.”

He raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Fifteen . . . no, maybe _ten_ percent tops. I was only goin’ to go all out to a mere ten percent of my ability!”

“Marisa, you _do_ realize that most of Gensokyo’s population would still be soundly throttled by a _mere_ ten percent of your ability, yes?”

“Well, then, she needs to give up on those fancy books.”

Pouting, the odd crest-like wing on her head bobbing up and down, Tokiko stuck her tongue out at Marisa.

“Thief! I found them! They were mine to begin with!”

“Yeah, but they’re from the outside world and extremely dangerous too! Ya got lucky Reimu spotted ya when she did and took them from ya!”

Rinnosuke was about to comment that only to the most recent book was dangerous but he had to cover his ears instead of opening his mouth.

“How is getting beat up and robbed lucky?! She stole my book!! I DIDN’T EVEN GET TO READ IT YET!! _AND THIS IS THE SECOND TIME SHE’S DONE THIS_!!!” Tokiko petulantly screamed.

Rinnosuke grimaced as he massaged the temples of his now quite sore head.

After unplugging her ears, Marisa turned to him and shook her head with a sincere sigh. “See? She’s _still_ not gettin’ it! Let me shock some sense inta her with my Master Spark of Love!” As she raised her mini-Hakkero again, Rinnosuke stepped between Marisa and the suddenly quivering-in-terror Tokiko, making calming gestures.

“Enough. Miss Tokiko’s already been seriously injured before. I’m fairly sure she’s had enough ‘tough love’ from you and our favorite shrine maiden to last several lifetimes.”

He knelt down and smiled at the shivering youkai, his golden eyes focused on her face.

“Now, please listen to me,” Rinnosuke said softly, “I know you’re very unhappy about it but the shrine maiden _wasn’t_ wrong. She might have been acting on pure instinct, and surely she should have taken the time to verify things rather than simply taking your books again, but the one this time really is a very dangerous item.”

“But . . . she sold it to you. She sold _all_ my books to you.”

Rinnosuke rubbed the back of his neck and looked away as he spoke. “Well . . . yes, I suppose you could phrase it that way. It was more like barter really. Though it _is_ true she stole them but . . . her heart . . . was filled with greed . . . oh, uh . . . Marisa?”

Snickering, Marisa stepped forward. “Now look here, shorty.” She held up three fingers. “First, Reimu was really out of sorts that first time. A lot of stuff was happenin’, stuff a kid like ya wouldn’t even begin to need or want to know about, trust me. It kinda made her lash out a bit more than she ever would have normally, ya know? Hey, yer a youkai so ya ain’t got a right to expect any human to treat ya nice, right? Plus, didn’t I already explain it all to ya back then?”

Tokiko said nothing.

“Second,” Marisa lowered a finger, “the book this time is _really_ dangerous! No one’s lying about that. Seriously.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“Eh? What was that short stuff? Didja just say ‘please shock me with yur love, Lady Marisa?’ Huh?”

Silence.

“Right, thought so.” Marisa lowered another finger and left only her middle one pointing up at Tokiko’s chin. “And finally, ya got beat. Strong took from the weak. That’s fair rules even if ya don’t like ‘em.”

Rinnosuke sighed. “Honestly, Marisa, can’t you be a bit nicer about this? Perhaps forgo the rude gestures at least? They’re not exactly ladylike.”

Blushing, Marisa looked away.

“In any case,” Rinnosuke continued to Tokiko, “I’ve already become quite fond of the first three books. They completed my set after all and shikigami books from the outside are rare finds. If you’d like, you can visit them and I’ll even let you read them for yourself since they’re not all that dangerous. Honestly, I think that’s a rather decent arrangement. However, I think you’d find them a boring read.”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. After thinking for a moment, he added “plus there’s simply no way I could ever sell them back to you. Ever. Especially that new book . . . it’s dangerous.”

Tokiko looked down at the dirt, her lower lip trembling. “What if I got stronger? Could I take them all back then?”

“Of course.”

Both Tokiko and Marisa stared at Rinnosuke in shock.

“What?” he asked with a faint smile. “I’m not exactly on par with Gensokyo’s titans, now am I? I do believe she even gave Miss Reimu a worthy fight so it shouldn’t take much growth to challenge me and win.”

“Ya shouldn’t go and give her ideas like that!” Marisa shouted, pointing at Tokiko’s happy grin.

He shrugged. “I’m being honest. She can have all the books if she can challenge me and take them. As you said yourself, the strong taking from the weak is fair enough for Gensokyo.” He yawned and scratched the back of his head.

Then, almost too casually, he added “oh, but the new book didn’t actually come from the outside human world like the others.”

Both girls stared at him.

“Didn’t I mention? It’s a Lunarian text.”

Tokiko’s face drained of color.

“Keep them all!” the small youkai said in horror.

“I suppose I must,” Rinnosuke grumbled.

“Hey, ya know what, kid?” Marisa asked softly.

“What?”

“I’m sorry about before. And now.”

Tokiko looked away. With a dejected shrug, she walked away toward the Forest of Magic. Once she’d vanished into the trees, Marisa turned back to Rinnosuke.

“Is it really Lunarian?”

“Sadly, no,” he said as he ran a hand through his short silver hair. “It’s merely a youkai grimoire. Quite dangerous, filled with several all but forgotten spells, but perhaps not the equal of Lunarian danger. Still, all of those books were clearly the type that fall under the prohibitions. A little girl like her, who’s smaller than a cat’s forehead, has no business reading books like that. She could trigger an incident.”

“Demon book, huh? If it ain’t a standing order of the Hakurei then it’s a piece of advice from Yukari,” Marisa said smartly.

Rinnosuke shrugged.

“Say . . . where are yur glasses?”

“I was napping before a certain someone loudly woke me.”

“Erk! Sorry about that!”

Shaking his head, Rinnosuke reached into the small bag tied to his belt and pulled out a pair of well-cared-for glasses. Slipping them on, he sighed contentedly. “Ah, that’s much better. Now I can see you clearly.”

Marisa fidgeted a bit.

“Yeah? So . . . how do I look?”

“Like someone who's several hours late for lunch.”

“Ooh, yeah. Shoulda apologized for that right off,” Marisa bowed her head, “but I got sidetracked on my way here. I wanted to pick up a copy of Bunbunmaru’s human-edition, ya see, so I went to talk to Kosuzu. Well, she’d sold out, but she had all kinds of things and stuff to tell me about, right? So, we talked so long I got calluses in my ears, but then I had to go and search for a copy of the paper and . . . why are ya smilin’ like that?”

Rinnosuke held up the paper he’d used on Marisa before.

“So ya . . . _you’re_ the handsome guy who bought the last copy?!”

“Oh, did Miss Kosuzu really call me handsome?” Rinnosuke asked as he struck a pose.

Marisa bit her lip and growled somewhat unintelligibly.

“In any case, Marisa,” Rinnosuke said to her as he relaxed with a smirk, “why not come in for a bit? I’ve actually still got the hot pot ready, if you’re hungry.”

“Eh? How’s that work?”

“I kept it on the stove obviously. Be grateful, I made my mush-“

Before he could finish the word, Maria was dashing past him into his shop and home.

-room stew,” Rinnosuke finished with a bemused smile.

As he started to follow Marisa inside, he paused just before crossing the shop’s threshold. His golden eyes narrowed as he turned to stare not into the distant darkening depths of the Forest of Magic but rather the seemingly sleeping village.

“What was . . . ?”

He’d felt something almost familiar. A simple sensation, like the tingling prickle of static on skin. No more, no less.

“Could that have been . . . no, I suppose it was nothing,” he muttered to himself as he went inside to find Marisa already gobbling down her second bowl of his mushroom stew.

 

* * *

 

Natsu and Happy erupted into Magnolia’s best magic clinic. The sight of the pink-haired wizard with the reputation for outrageous property damage, his shoulders and back draped by a naked man, triggered understandably startled concern among the staff. He was instantly at the center of everyone’s attention

“Salamander? Great, what’s next?” one of the orderlies whined after catching sight of Natsu. Before the wizard could even think of responding, he’d dashed away down a hallway.

It seemed that the night was chaotic enough without a member of Fairy Tail around.

Everyone was agitated already. Seeing him only seemed to exacerbate their worries. Even the sight of Happy happily gliding alongside him did little to calm their nerves. “Oh man, I really hope ‘naked guys falling into girls’ bathrooms’ hasn’t become a trend tonight,” Natsu muttered loudly to himself at the sight of all the activity.

This particular magic clinic was often busy. It had a well-earned reputation for quality care, particularly for emergency cases. The Fairy Tail guild had once entrusted them with the recovery of Levy McGarden and her dynamic duo pals, a.k.a. Team Shadow Gear. The clinic had become their go-to place for general treatment ever since.

Natsu couldn’t remember ever seeing it this busy though.

Several doctors and nurses were walking around checking on patients, their questions terse and their eyes furtive. Orderlies kept moving, almost running from place to place. Several burly security guards kept their eyes wide and their hands near various magical weapons. The night was growing late, but even a fairly safe and happy city has its share of illness and accidents, though Natsu immediately sensed that something wasn’t right.

He was about to grab the nearest person and ask what was going on when something shifted in his belly. “Ah crap,” he growled, doubling over a bit.

Several nearby nurses, who couldn’t help but stare a bit at the obviously queasy Salamander with his naked male backpack, noticed his sudden bout of nausea but were too busy to do much for him.

Or they took his words about naked men and women’s bathrooms badly and promptly acted as busy as they possibly could.

Natsu felt oddly paranoid tonight.

Though trying not to cause any more concern, Natsu groaned, shook his head a little, and tried to spot someone not working. He took a deep breath and felt his insides twist in a very unnatural feeling way. “Urgh, Happy, take over buddy ‘cause I’m finished.”

With those final words to his best friend, Natsu slumped to the floor, with a pained expression of nausea. His cheeks bulged as he tried to hold things back and his eyes took on a glazed over whiteness.

Happy stepped closer to his friend, his small paws pressed together and held close to his body, his smile a little uncertain.

“Geez Natsu, if you’re feeling that bad you should have told Lucy to carry her bare buddy here herself,” Happy said trying to keep a typically ‘Happy’ expression on his face.

Natsu clenched his fist and held it out in front of him as if making a pledge.

“No way. Nuh uh. Nuts to that,” Natsu grumbled before his face glazed over a shade of greyish blue. He doubled over again and shuddered. “Oh crap. I think I’m going to throw something up that isn’t fire!”

“AHH! Someone help! Natsu’s dying!” Happy squealed with unfeigned concern.

A somewhat nervous looking young nurse stepped up to them after a moment. “Um, do you need help Mr. Dragneel?” She glanced around then leaned in and whispered knowingly, “were you brought here by some sort of . . . vehicle?”

“No, he walked and I flew,” Happy explained helpfully.

He jabbed a paw at the man on Natsu’s back and added “the naked guy popped out of a bunch of fireworks or something.” Having so clearly explained everything of importance, Happy beamed at the nurse with unvarnished pride, and patted Natsu’s trembling shoulder.

She scratched her head in utter incomprehension. “Oh . . . well, okay.”

Natsu sat up as best he could. “I may feel like crud but this guy’s got real problems.”

Adding actions to his words, he held the Naked Man up for examination, seemingly gaining a very mild second wind in the process.

“Oh, really? I thought maybe he was some sort of perverted ruffian you caught.” The nurse blushed scarlet but quickly went about checking the Naked Man’s neck and chest for vitals. She jerked her hand away as her finger tips touched his skin. “He’s feverish and there are odd burns covering his body.”

She glanced at Natsu meaningfully but Happy waved her suspicions off.

“He’s got broken bones too. Maybe some other internal injuries I can’t see,” Natsu added for the nurse’s benefit.

Happy glanced over at the man’s lower body from his vantage point closer to the floor. “Whoa, he really is burned all over. It looks really bad down here.”

The nurse followed the blue cat’s line of sight and blushed more fiercely but also drew back with resolute eyes. She turned and waved to a fellow sister of healing. “Please send for an expert healer; a specialist in transferral magic backfires would be a priority. I’m not sure what happened to this man but his burns seem similar to T.M.B.s. We’ll also need someone to see about internal injuries, broken bones and punctured organs, also possible empathic injury. And please get one of the orderlies to prepare a room for two.”

The other nurse nodded and quickly set about the task.

The first turned back to Happy and Natsu.

“Mr. Dragneel, you look very pale.” She reached out for Natsu’s hand. “You can help me get that poor man into a bed . . . but then, please, rest here for a while as well. You’re clearly not feeling like yourself.”

Natsu looked at the nurse’s offered hand. He glanced at Happy, who had an expression on his face not too far from when he was worried about losing a fish before dinner, then the sickened Salamander sighed.

“Alright,” he said reluctantly. Natsu returned the Naked Man to his former position over his shoulder.

Just as the nurse was about to help him, a man came running up, a bit frantic and out of breath. He grabbed her shoulder and whispered fiercely in her ear. “Ellis, we’ve got another emergency. It’s a young girl in bad shape. She was brought over from Old Ben’s place and she’s just barely clinging to life. Someone carved her up but good!”

The nurse, Ellis, looked like she might scream. “The night before the festival is always trouble but this year is insane.”

Her fellow worker ran off to do something more productive than continuing to chatter.

Ellis tried to smile as she helped Natsu rise to his feet even as he kept steady the naked stranger slung across his back. Together they walked down a long hall to a room with two beds. She assisted Natsu all the way with her shoulder and arm helping to prop up, and guide, the normally quite powerful wizard.

Just after they laid the stranger in one of the beds, Natsu collapsed out of exhaustion.

While Happy and the nurse maneuvered Natsu into the room’s other bed, the Naked Man slept deeper than the darkest well in all of Magnolia, and the late night moon watched over everything without compassion.

 

 

Outside of town, hidden behind camouflage screens, the Titans’ base camp writhed with activity. In one small tent, Jerid Messa carefully wiped blood from his gloves with grim determination. For the most part, he’d already pushed aside the day’s memories although a slight nausea persisted.

He was a good solider. His training emphasized emotional detachment. It was, in fact, a vital necessity. To march swiftly toward the goals set by his commander, he needed to be clear.

It hadn’t been easy getting the information he needed but he’d done it.

‘It’s not like I had a choice,’ he thought as he wrung out the last drops of blood from his gloves, ‘disobeying orders means death.’

Mobile suit pilots weren’t supposed to be interrogators but Jerid considered his efforts a rousing success. Smirking to himself, he supposed that the work of an interrogator wasn’t his style, but there was still a certain _satisfaction_ in succeeding. Even a barbaric task had value and it filled him with a soldier’s pride to carry out his orders to the letter.

“Once this is over, my next promotion is assured,” Jerid coldly muttered to himself, “once I’ve eliminated the targets, the Commander’s path will be clear. There won’t be anything to stand in our way.” Satisfied that he’d wrenched out every drop of blood, he hung his gloves on a metal clothes line to dry.

Everything was falling into place. His career, his missions, his every move seemed charmed, just like it had been before Kamille started interfering.

It had started with the new Commander’s coup, with his unique foresight. Since his arrival, he’d all but singlehandedly turned the tide of the war against the AEUG. Than’s orders had resulted in their catastrophic defeat at Colony 30. It was because of him that the Titans’ losses in men and materiel were minimal.

The feeling of that victory still gave Jerid a rush.

‘He told me to stand back and watch, that I’d see victory,’ Jerid thought as memories of that moment flooded back to him.

It had been as if Than knew everything that was going to happen before it happened. The AEUG suffered near total losses with all but two of their mobile suits destroyed and their ship left near crippled.

With the traitor captured, along with the rest of the Argama’s crew, Jerid couldn’t help but feel near invincible.

He was even happy Kamille had managed to escape.

‘With Than’s orders, and Lila’s training, there’s no way I can lose.’

The thought of his fiancée gave Jerid a moment of pause. Lila’s moral code frowned on unnecessary brutality and death. Torturing an old man for information wouldn’t be anything less than infuriating to her.

He still remembered the sight of pain on her face at seeing firsthand the truth of the Colony 30 massacre. How tightly she’d gripped his hand! The fierce stare she’d focused on the countless corpses of traitorous colonists had also disturbed Jerid more than he cared to admit.

Still, he could accept his orders and embrace his newfound role.

The Titans’ victories under their new commander were undeniable.

“Just a little longer,” he vowed, “and victory will be mine.”

Once his assembled troops were rested, and after they’d completed their morning preparations, it would be all over but the killing. It was a cheerless reality to prepare for but one he accepted as the necessary cost to secure victory against his Commander’s true enemy.

Quickly stripping off what remained of his uniform, and after checking for any more blood, Jerid hung the last of his clothes on the thin metal line. Naked, he stretched. His rippling muscles a little sore.

As Jerid pressed gently against a tender spot on his arm, a flash of a terrified old man’s face pierced him. That wasn’t something he wanted to remember. Wincing, he balled a fist at his side and ground his teeth. “It’ll all be worth it in the end,” he muttered with conviction. “Commander Than is the leader the Titans needed all along.”

After making sure he didn’t need to wash anything more, Jerid crossed the short distance from his clothes line to his cot and all but fell into the warm embrace of fine cotton. Pulling his thick sheets up, he closed his eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

In a world not his own, Jerid tossed and turned through the long night, haunted by an old man’s desperate screams.

 

* * *

 

“Chen, don’t stray too far! Nights in the village aren’t like nights at home! This is practically another world entirely,” Ran called out in an exasperated tone as Chen got further ahead of her. She tried to walk a little faster, yet still keep her pace controlled and ladylike, but it wasn’t easy. At her sides were heavy shopping bags that swayed with every step she took. Their sundry contents were a mix of fresh fruits, vegetables, and some other odds and ends.

On top of every other inconvenience of late, Ran had recently discovered that the mansion’s food stores had been reduced to a shell of their former selves thanks to a certain phantasmal houseguest. Though, she suspected the disobedient feline before her was guilty of a bit more than her fair share of the feast as well.

Waving back with hardly a glance, her pink fingernails catching the moonlight, Chen grinned and laughed. “It’s fine! I’m a cat! I can see everything!”

“You’re eyesight isn’t the prob-”

Before Ran could finish her sentence, Chen had rounded a corner and vanished.

“-lem,” she grumbled quietly. Sighing and shaking her head, Ran rubbed the spot just above the bridge of her nose and slightly below her eye line.

‘Sometimes I feel more like a mother than a master,’ she thought with a tired smile.

Her head jerked forward. Something sharp struck against her skull slicing open her flesh.

For an instant, everything went pitch dark, but then her vision returned in a hazy blur. Unsteady on her feet, Ran pressed a hand to the back of her head with a wince. Hot, wet, her fingers came away dripping with red.

Belatedly, as a dull ache spread, she realized that she’d dropped her bags of groceries. Bearing her fangs, she let loose a low guttural growl.

“What was . . . ?”

A faint whistling gave away the second one.

Ran’s eyes narrowed sharply. She juked right too fast to be followed by untrained eyes. Spinning on her heel, she snatched it out of the air easily, and stared at it.

A sharp rock.

Suddenly, a child’s voice filled the night. “Run for it!”

Looking up, almost too surprised to be angry, she caught sight of several young village boys running away. One of them stopped at the mouth of an alleyway to glare back at her.

Down his left cheek ran a long and jagged scar.

Staring at Ran with hate-filled eyes, he spat and fled, crying out “next time, youkai!”

Rubbing the back of her head gingerly, Ran knelt to retrieve her bags, carefully checking to see if anything was broken. A few apples had bruised and rolled out but nothing else seemed much affected. She picked up one and stared at it through glistening tears.

The momentary anger she’d felt at being so pointlessly attacked was gone.

It had evaporated when she saw the boy’s cheek.

 _That_ was the point.

“Yukari was right,” she muttered to herself.

“Eh, annoyin’ ain’t it?”

Startled, Ran leapt to her feet and bowed her head formally.

“Oh! Miss Marisa! Good evening.”

Ambling out of a side street shrouded in darkness, a distracted air about her, Marisa returned Ran’s bow with a careful nod.

“Yeah, it’s a decent one, I guess,” she grumbled as she tried to adjust her big black hat without using her hands. As she stepped closer, she almost stumbled. Her broom was balanced precariously over one shoulder while her hands were barely keeping a huge metal pot stable.

Ran eyed the pot and sniffed the air. A slightly amused smile returned to her lips. “Hah, I believe that scent belongs to Mr. Morichika’s famous mushroom stew.”

“Yup, and this pot’s too full for me to fly. I think he’s punishin’ me for bein’ late.”

“Well now, that’s a rather generous punishment,” Ran said with a chuckle as she put a hand to her chin out of habit.

Marisa smiled warmly back but then her eyes caught the glitter of starlight reflected in red. The glistening of fresh blood caught the magician off-guard. She almost dropped her pot of stew when she dashed to Ran’s side.

“Hey! What happened to ya!? Yer bleedin’ like a waterfall!”

“Oh . . . this? Well, some children were playing . . . .”

She couldn’t quite finish the lie. Her nine tails drooped and Ran’s lips curled upward in an excessively false smile. In a stiff and near silent voice, she muttered “it was really my fault entirely. Really.”

Marisa eyed Ran for a moment. “Is that right? Yur fault?”

Ran said nothing.

“Gotcha, I gotcha, but yur guilty conscience ain’t gonna keep those kids from messin’ with the wrong youkai at some point.” She held out her pot and Ran was too well-mannered to refuse it. With a quick wave of her now free hands, Marisa cast a healing spell. Grinning, the mendacious magician girl pointed a finger at the sky before Ran could say a word of thanks.

“Stars sparkle cause they’re stars. Ya know?”

Ran looked down at her feet.

Marisa adjusted her hat and grinned. “Youkai gonna youkai, right? Well, whatever, I’m gonna go knock some sense inta those brats.”

Without another word, Marisa took a running leap into the air, easily stuck her broom between her legs, and was shooting into the sky before gravity could even think of trying to stop her. As she flew, her golden hair sailed behind her.

When Ran looked up, the last traces of Marisa’s afterimage were like a shooting star.

Sniffing, she set down the pot to wipe at her eyes and nose.

Half a heartbeat later, a scream erupted from the alleyway where the children had gone. Almost immediately, there was another, followed swiftly by distant shouts of panicked pleading.

Before she even realized it, Ran was dashing toward them.

‘Is she killing them?!’ Ran’s panicked mind fueled her feet.

When she rounded the corner and entered the alleyway, she paused for a second to sniff the air. Instantly, her nostrils flared at the telltale aroma of fresh young blood. The odor of fear teased her senses and brought back memories she’d long tried to forget. Instinctively, she licked her lips then slapped a hand over her mouth in disgust.

Ran bit her tongue painfully and thought of the promise she’d made to Yukari.

Her purpose clear again, she chased after the scent of violence, hunting not for prey but for a fellow predator.

After several twists and turns, she stepped out into an open side market, where several overlooking windows had lit candles flickering. The square before her was littered with scraps of cloth and blots of blood.

Three young boys were shivering on the paving stones, their eyes vacant and lost.

A fourth was motionless. He lay in a pool of bright crimson that shimmered under the cold moonlight.

Ragged scraps of meat and small shards of bone were all that remained of his arms.

As Ran went straight to the still boy, Marisa circled overhead, her eyes darting this way and that. “Didja see that?! It was moving way too fast to be any normal animal!” she called down, her voice awestruck.

Ran silently felt for the child’s pulse.

Only when she found it, slow and weak, did she realize she’d been holding her breath.

Brushing the boy’s hair back, Ran frowned down at the scared face of her attacker, and almost forgot herself entirely. In that moment, realization struck her like a thunderbolt.

Moving fast enough to impress Marisa.

Almost like an animal but clearly not.

Protective of Ran.

Marisa dropped down from the sky and stood at attention with her broom in hand.

“Seriously, didja see anythin’, Ran? I only caught a glimpse but it was a youkai for sure!”

Marisa made a series of rapid gestures as she stepped closer, instantly searing the boy’s wounds shut with magic. It was cruder than her earlier healing spell but it would prevent him from bleeding out.

“Someone’s gone and ignored Yukari’s contract, dang it!” Marisa tapped her foot as she thought for a moment, her eyes going from the boy to Ran’s uncertain expression. “Okay, ya should stay here, try to keep things under control. People here trust ya, right? I’ll go and let Reimu know what’s happened. We’ll meet up later at her shack . . . er, shrine, just as soon as these kids are taken care of!”

Ran said nothing.

The clamor of doors opening as villagers spilled from their homes to crowd around the carnage filled her perked ears. Carefully listening for other familiar sounds, she sniffed the air but couldn’t find the scent she sought through the growing sensory sea of human fright. ‘I have to protect her,’ Ran thought as she grit her sharp teeth. Her mind was roiling, thoughts twisting in knots. ‘She couldn’t have meant for it to go this far. Surely she was only trying to protect me!’

Suddenly, Ran felt a hand on her shoulder.

She glanced up and found Marisa staring at her intently. Her eyes were sharp as ever and her expression shifted ever so slightly as she read Ran’s emotions.

‘She knows,’ Ran thought sadly.

“Didja hear me? _You need to take care of the kid_.”

Marisa’s words made Ran wince.

“Mmm. We’ll _all_ meet up at the shrine.”

Staring uncertainly, Marisa slipped her broom back between her firm thighs. “I’m gonna try and spot her from the sky on my way to Reimu’s.” A few long and uncomfortable seconds passed before she hesitantly added “listen . . . it ain’t yur fault, kay?”

Silently, Ran nodded her head.

Hesitating for a but a moment more, Marisa cursed loudly and kicked off, shooting into the sky like a rocket.

Her ears drooping, Ran felt a tear slide down her cheek.

In the few seconds she’d been distracted, a crowd had gathered. Villagers were busily applying basic medical treatment to the other children, all of whom seemed dazed and confused, though their injuries were minor.

Several people stared in restless silence at the youkai tenderly tending to the most injured child of all.

“Call for Unshou,” an elderly woman cried out to the others as she walked right past Ran and the scarred boy. She knelt beside another child and began whispering questions while giving Ran uneasy sidelong glances.

Children tried to peek around their parents’ legs or pry their way through the wall of adults blocking their view. They were all too eager to see the sight of something unspeakable. Their eyes twinkled without malice yet it was clear they took some glee in the excitement of the tragedy. That was the way of children. Innocence could be as cruel as knowing malice.

Ran couldn’t fault any of them though. They were human and she was a youkai.

She didn’t have the right to judge them. Not when someone precious to her had so brutally savaged a human child.

A little girl stepped out of the darkness and into her sight.

“Fox lady, are you hurt?” she asked very softly, her green eyes sparkling and kind.

In an instant, Ran recognized her.

She was the same girl from the day that Yukari was taken by the demon.

Though she knew the boy in Ran’s arms, had known him for the entirety of her short young life, her tearful eyes were not fixed on him. Instead, she gazed upon Ran’s shamed face with a worried expression.

Her gentle concern was almost too much to bear.

“Are you hurt?” the girl asked again as she touched Ran’s bloodstained hands.

Ran started to shake her head, to say what was comforting.

Couldn’t.

She couldn’t lie to her.

“Are you?”

In a bitterly sad voice, Ran whispered “yes.”

  
“This inhuman world has to become more humane. But how?”  
-Friedrich Durrenmatt

 

End of Chapter Two

Next Chapter: Burdens


	3. Burdens

Beneath the purity of the peerless moon ran a small girl on all fours.

Strands of her short brown hair were torn from her bare head by the winds of her own swift movement. With two tails streaming behind, and a pair of black cat ears slicked back atop her head, the girl was obviously a youkai. Incredible speed and her four limbed running stance would have proved it were it ever in doubt. She was unrivaled among the feline predators of Gensokyo.

She moved so fast that, in her wake, she left behind faint afterimages.

Yet, from a human perspective, she also appeared to be no more than a child of ten.

Her brown eyes gleamed in the dark, wide with fear, as her feline flight further led her down the Eastern road out of the village. Even as she fled, she tried to understand what had happened, tried to piece together some sort of explanation for it.

She couldn’t.

All Chen could do was taste the coppery flavor of blood even as she gasped for breath.

The reek of it filled her senses.

Her lips were stained red, the white bow around her collar splattered with blood, and her red dress had soaked in even more of it.

Escaping the taste, forgetting the smell, both were impossible.

Ahead, the moon cast its light over a fork in the road.

If she took the right path, she’d eventually reach the Hakurei Shrine. Chen had been told many times by her master, and her master’s master, that this was a safe place. Perhaps it wasn’t always a willing sanctuary for youkai but of late it was unquestionably the place for an innocent and endangered youkai to go.

The left was a backup. It was a less certain refuge.

As she neared the fork, Chen tried to stop, and lost her footing. She hit the ground hard and skidded along, stirring up a thick cloud of dust. Breathing quick, unsteady breaths, she flipped over on her back.

Trembling, Chen stared at the sky.

“What happened?!” she cried out, tears welling up in her eyes.

Suddenly sobbing, alone on the ground, she couldn’t move nor run a step.

The moon watched over her, its pitiless light glaring down.

Then, a shadow blotted out the night sky.

“You taking a nap? That’s a bad place for it, little one.”

Chen stared up at a pair of concerned but vacant eyes. Without thinking, biting her lip so hard she tasted her own blood instead of the human child’s, she reached up.

The man was tall. Much taller than she was. He was thin too, very thin. He wore a cap and a simple coat. His appearance didn’t differ much from any ordinary villager but she could tell that he wasn’t a human at all.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was a youkai too.

She wasn’t sure what kind though.

Instead of taking Chen’s hand, her would-be rescuer took hold of her pink sleeve and yanked her to her feet with relative ease. Immediately, he leaned in close. He noticed the blood but shrugged and started to brush the dirt from Chen’s clothes.

“Is that . . . _human blood_ , perhaps?”

His eyes, black as coal, narrowed to thin slits as he leaned in much closer.

So close he could lick her if he wanted to.

“Did you do something naughty, little one?”

“Chen didn’t do anything wrong!” she cried out desperately.

“Oh? So you didn’t? Hmm, but then why are you covered in gore if you didn’t do anything wrong? That’s confusing,” he grinned strangely, “you’re confusing.”

“I’m the one confused,” Chen whimpered.

She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes with the backs of her hands.

“I was in the village and-”

“The _human_ village?”

“Um, is there ano-”

“So a human was hurt? Did you do it? You must have since you’re covered in human blood. Oh, but I suppose that’s to be expected, right? Youkai are dangerous! Youkai _must_ be exterminated to keep humans safe,” he chuckled, “that’s what _she_ thinks, _isn’t that right_?”

His long thing fingers still held Chen’s sleeve by a corner. Even so, each time she tried to pull away, she could find no escape. There was not even the slightest hint of weakness in him. Until that moment, Chen had thought this youkai weak because he was thin and looked frail but his grip was stronger than any blacksmith’s vice.

His cold black eyes bore into her soul as he grinned a grin that wasn’t quite right. Under the pale moonlight, he wore a strange and unnerving expression. There was something deeply wrong about his face, though she wasn’t sure what. His pale skin seemed almost to glow in the night as he glanced up at the dark sky, as if listening for a faint whisper in the silent darkness.

Chen felt a pain in her chest and knew she’d been holding her breath.

“You’re rather fortunate though, aren’t you? You met me here on this road and not _her_!”

A raspy chuckle dripped from his lips as he turned back to her.

With a gasp, Chen tried to pull away but he held her firmly, his face too close.

“Wait a moment, just a moment! Please, I’m not trying to frighten you.” He sighed and scratched under his cap with his free hand.

Flakes of dry dead skin drifted down in a flurry.

Seeing them, Chen suddenly realized why the man’s face seemed so wrong to her.

His skin was too dry.

Too papery.

Bloodless and thin, like dried out leather.

“Please, listen warmly for a moment, little youkai,” he said with a sudden grin. “You should take the left fork.”

“Huh? But, the shrine’s to th-”

“I SAID TAKE THE LEFT FORK!”

The man screamed at Chen, his face so close that drops of his spit splattered against her cheeks. Terrified, she hissed, spat back, and clawed at him as the air was filled with the sound of cloth ripping apart. Before the man could react, Chen was racing away on the left path, leaving behind a single sleeve.

“Oh, perhaps I overdid that,” he muttered to himself, tapping his chin.

His light touch split the skin apart

A cascade of dry flakes fell. He sighed and shook his head.

“Guess this one’s getting too old.”

Digging his fingers into the skin behind his jaw line, sharp nails piercing deep yet drawing no blood, he ripped his face off with a flourish. Tossing aside the shredded dry flesh by the roadside, the moonlight revealed another face with sharper features. Staring up at the night sky, he bellowed laughter, spreading his arms wide.

“Are you watching? Are you watching _me_? I have such sights to show you!”

The man spun around with arms outstretched, cackling in the moonlight, before finally walking toward the human village in search of a new face.

 

* * *

 

“NO!”

Her scream echoed within the dark room as she shot up in bed. Instantly, she twisted in on herself as waves of excruciating pain shot through her flesh. Her lungs burned. Struggling to breath, to think, her eyes bulged in her head. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire.

The lights came on as a nurse burst into the room.

“Damn it, get the doctor!” Ellis yelled back out the door before rushing to her patient’s side. She wrapped her arms around the poor girl’s shoulders and rocked her gently. “There now, it’s going to be alright, I promise.”

Alice was awake but filled with a terrible exhaustion. It was a desperate struggle to keep her eyes open. Shivering, she gripped Ellis as a drowning woman clutches a scrap of driftwood.

“I saw lights,” Alice whispered, her lips quivering. “I was floating in darkness . . . not a tunnel . . . what does that mean? Did I . . . oh God, _is this Hell_?” She winced and wept, her tears quickly soaking Ellis’s shoulder.

“You were attacked,” the nurse said softly. “Do you know who hurt you?”

The poor girl shook her head frantically.

“I was . . . in my room. Then . . . shadows. S-someone . . . grabbed me like before. Everything went black. Then he . . . he was . . . OH, GOD, HE WAS OVER ME! He was just over me a-and . . . I thought it was happening _again_ but he-he-he STABBED ME! I kicked him so hard, it felt like he fell off of me but then I couldn’t move and I felt this aching heat in my chest. I looked down and I was soaking in red and I screamed but they were laughing and he was ON ME AGAIN! HE STABBED ME! HE DID! WHY? WHY!? I’M JUST A COSPLAYER!!”

Holding her patient tighter, Ellis gently stroked Alice’s hair and whispered soothingly into her ear. Drop by drop, the girl’s tears drained away. Her breathing fell from quick gasps to faint whispers. After a few seconds, she went limp.

Ellis quickly shifted Alice in her arms to check her pulse. Breathing a sigh of relief, the nurse settled the poor girl back into bed. A deep sleep had claimed the girl once more.

Rubbing her temples, Ellis sighed long and hard. Tonight, she had too many patients to watch over, and tomorrow she’d need a few extra tweaks to cover up the imminent dark circles under her eyes. In the moment, she could only hope that she’d at least given this poor girl the slightest comfort.

“Why would anyone do such a thing to her?” she wondered aloud.

 

* * *

 

“An attack _inside_ the village?”

It hadn’t been long since Ran had first found the grievously wounded boy. After she broke down and cried over him, the village elder had arrived to start calmly issuing orders. The boy had been taken to the finest human healer, surrounded by family and opportunists. Ran had wanted to go with him too, hoping to watch over him in penance for her role in this tragedy, but the village elder had caught her eye and beckoned her into his house.

Now she stood silently in his home study, watching the fretful old man pace, surrounded by the trappings of village politics. Understandably confused, he held a hand to his forehead, shaking his head slowly. His face was pale and his chin quivered. Nervously, he went back and forth. The hardwood floor had a well-used looping path worn into it from the countless years he’d spent as a leader of the village.

Ran glanced around the study. The walls were covered in shelves filled with symbolic gifts, scrolls, and tokens of appreciation. Some dated back to the founding of the village but the majority were deeply personal. She couldn’t help but wonder at each item’s history, particularly an elegant doll holding the greatest place of prominence.

There was something familiar about it but she was far too distracted to puzzle out what.

The elder stopped pacing for a moment. He walked over to a long desk that was pressed against one wall and quickly shifted through the stacks of paper and reams of handwritten notes covering it.

“Are you certain it was a youkai?” he asked carefully. “Could it have been something else? Some sort of creature perhaps? A magic tool? Anything at all other than a youkai?” As he spoke, he skimmed over several documents before nodding as he held one up. “Could it have had something to do with those orbs the Kirisame girl sorted out?”

“Orbs?”

“Never mind. Since you haven’t heard about that incident, I doubt it’s connected.” The elder sighed and gestured broadly. “Please, have a seat, and tell me everything you know.”

There were several chairs for guests placed about the study but Ran couldn’t bear to sit.

Her tails were too stiff with worry.

Restlessly, Ran found herself shifting from foot to foot as she spoke. Word by word, she summarized everything that had happened. Though she downplayed her own injuries, the elder still nodded sympathetically as she told him about the attack.

“That was when I heard his screams,” Ran said as she reached the end. “I found the children there. The other boys seemed relatively uninjured. Miss Marisa did what she could but she thought her talents were best used searching for . . . the culprit.” Having shared all that she knew, except for a short name, she bowed her head slightly. Ran’s ears drooped and her nine tails lay limp on the floor.

“It was a youkai,” she said bitterly.

The elder leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

“Does your master know of this? Surely she will not let it stand.”

Ran blinked in surprise at the certainty in the village elder’s voice. “Unfortunately, master is not here. She’s outside of Gensokyo.”

Sighing, the village elder nodded resolutely. “Of course, that explains much. I wouldn’t imagine a youkai could attack inside the village were she here. We should wait for her to return but I doubt I can keep order for so long. My people have been enraged by this tragedy.”

“This is all my fault,” Ran confessed.

“No, I’ll have none of that!”

She stared in astonishment as the village elder shook his head, stood and walked to her, then set a comforting hand on her shoulder. Dumbfounded, she watched his wrinkled face brighten ever so slightly. “I owe a great deal to your master. Indeed, I even owe my very life to a youkai. Does it shock you to know some humans are more appreciative of you youkai than we can say in public?”

Before she could answer, he turned away.

“Though, I suspect that you’re hiding something from me.”

Ran stiffened.

“That boy . . . he’s the same one from then . . . .” his voice trailed off. He turned back to face her, his eyes piercing. Ran felt more intimidated than she’d expected. Despite his age, he had an aura of strength surrounding him.

Wishing she could deny the truth, Ran gave a terse confessional nod.

“I believe that girl clinging to you before was the other one?”

Again, she nodded.

“That was an unpleasant affair. Keeping it secret wasn’t easy. Had your master not pleaded with me to do so, you might already have faced the vengeful might of this village.”

Ran could not meet the old man’s eyes as he stared at her carefully.

“I’m not yet senile,” he gruffly grumbled, “so don’t try to pretend you weren’t provoked tonight as well. If you did this in self-defense-”

“No! I wouldn’t do something like that to a child! Not even in self-defense!”

“-it wouldn’t be an excuse anyway. However, if you say that’s not what happened, then I can believe you. Setting aside your guilty eagerness to selflessly take responsibility here, there’s the matter of what happened during the endless winter incident.” The village elder smirked. “Though, I suppose that was more of your master’s will than anything else. It _was_ troublesome.”

“. . . .”

The old man’s face became stern. “The past is the past. I have no interest in rehashing indiscretions of youth nor sins buried deep. I do, however, need for you to trust me if you can, as she did. I kept my word and convinced Keine to act on your behalf just as she asked of me.”

Ran tried to smile at him but her lips couldn’t quite seem to manage it. Instead, in an almost predatory way, she simply revealed her teeth.

“I trust you,” she said softly.

The village elder sighed. “I suppose you wouldn’t, given the current situation.”

Ran said nothing.

“Well, since your master isn’t here, I’m going to go and try to arrange an audience with the . . . the S-s-scarlet Devil.” He shuddered involuntarily as his face grew paler. Clearing his throat roughly, he stared at Ran with suddenly hopeful eyes. “U-u-unless you think Lady Yakumo will be back very soon, yes?”

“I’m sorry but I doubt she will.”

He swallowed his fear audibly. “I . . . see. Well, then I guess I’m off to . . . oh gods, I hope she won’t be cross with me for visiting again so soon!”

Ran followed the old man out into the darkness. In the cool night, moonlight gleamed in her sharp eyes as an ill wind blew past carrying the scent of violence and blood. Her nostrils flared as she breathed it in. She licked her lips, an instinctive urge rising up, as a sweet shiver ran down her spine.

The village elder eyed her curiously as he closed his door.

Immediately, Ran blushed. “I’m sorry,” she said again, bowing to him slightly.

“. . . tell her that my debt is paid.”

Without another word, he pressed something into Ran’s hands.

As he turned away, her fingers tips knew, and her eyes went wide with recognition. Stunned, she opened her mouth to speak but could think not of a single appropriate word.

In a daze, she watched the village elder as he walked away into the darkness. Halfway from the mouth of an alley, he glanced back and pleasantly nodded to Ran. “Give my regards to your master when she returns. Tell her I would very much enjoy being soundly trounced in another game of Shogi whenever she has the time.”

“I . . . . I can’t-”

He raised a hand to silence her.

“My debt to her is repaid, yes?” Once she’d nodded, he sighed and seemed to deflate. “Well, I suppose I can’t delay this any longer,” he muttered with a shudder.

He faced the general direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion with slumped shoulders.

Ran watched him vanish down an alleyway, the sound of his shoes echoing in the empty moonlit streets. She hadn’t been able to express herself to him. In the end, all she could do was to fall to her knees and clutch his gift against her chest.

Quietly, bowing her head so that her nose touched the dirt, she whispered “thank you.”

Only then did she have the resolve to open her hands and look at what he, the man who lead Gensokyo’s humans, had given to her with such a kind smile.

Ran held Chen’s bloodstained cap in her trembling hands.

 

With a THUD, Reimu carefully set a stack of books almost as tall as she was down on the floor. “Whew,” she sighed as she wiped sweat from her furrowed brow, “finally got them all.”

She glanced around at the many piles of books and nodded in satisfaction.

“Now, where should I-”

“Hey, Reimu! Are ya here?! Somethin’s happened!”

“-hide to get away from my responsibilities, is what I’d like to say,” Reimu grumbled as Marisa threw open her door.

“Reimu! We’ve got trouble!”

One eyebrow went up as Reimu’s eyes narrowed slightly. Frowning, she spoke in a curious and calmly detached voice. “I shouldn’t ask, but how did you open my door so easily when I _distinctly_ remember locking it?”

“Ain’t got time for jokin’ around!! A kid was attacked in the village! Got his arms chewed off by a youkai . . . we think it might have been Chen!”

Without another word, Reimu turned from her and dashed deep into the shrine. Before Marisa could take more than a step to follow, Reimu flung a stern glare back over her shoulder. “Stay back! If you get too close to the Yin-Yang Orbs without properly cleansing yourself, you’ll be cursed. Or vaporized. It depends on how impure you are.”

Having seen the power of Reimu’s go-shintai before, Marisa took several steps back.

Then she took a few more to be safe and waited.

There were many layers of magical defenses in place around the orbs. Some obvious, hiding far more intricate spellcraft, but others were as simple as they appeared. All deadly.

Only those of the Hakurei blood could pass with ease.

Behind a simple altar, Reimu soon stood before a small sealed sacred closet with double doors. It held her tools of youkai extermination and contained their power. Drawing a deep breath, she reached out to press her fingertips against one of the ofuda locking them away. She closed her eyes, silently reciting a familiar prayer, one so deeply ingrained in her consciousness that Reimu thought she might have been born knowing it.

Without any fanfare or fury, all of the seals binding the doors were split apart, and they creaked open by themselves.

Within the closet were the most sacred of the Hakurei Shrine’s treasures, the Yin-Yang Orbs, each carefully placed in a nest of exquisite red silk cloth. Reimu reached out to touch the crystals with a worried expression. At her touch, each faintly hummed with the mysterious force that had lent the Hakurei Shrine Maidens’ power since times forgotten.

Even from a distance, Marisa felt a prickling sensation as waves of arcane and spiritual power poured from the sacred objects. It was enough to make her nervously take a step back.

‘Is she going to use those on Chen?’ Marisa wondered, horrified.

Reaching for the orbs, Reimu felt a twinge of uncertainty.

Something wasn’t right. Her instincts whispered and she listened intently, unknowingly seeking the wisdom of a forgotten god. She considered her options for but a moment.

“I’ll only need this for now,” Reimu grumbled as she reached past the Yin-Yang Orbs to firmly grasp her gohei. It wasn’t the most powerful tool of youkai extermination but then she wasn’t entirely convinced actual extermination was necessary yet. Instinctively, she knew that this was the right choice.

Purification rod in hand, held so tightly her knuckles turned white, Reimu closed the closet. With a few quick gestures, the ofuda seals were reapplied. When she turned back to face her magician friend, no trace of doubt remained in her eyes.

Marisa eyed the rod with a frown.

“Are you sure it was Chen?” Reimu asked calmly.

Marisa shook her head. “Nope! Not sure at all! Uh, but Ran got really freaked out after the kid was attacked and the little brat had hit her with a rock before it happened.”

“Tsk,” Reimu clicked her tongue. “Such a foolish thing to do.” Closing her eyes, she tried to picture Chen witnessing the attack and then savaging the child responsible . . . but couldn’t. “Alright, I understand the situation and I’ll investigate immediately.”

As Reimu passed her, Marisa reached out and took her wrist, grasping it tightly.

“Hey,” she spoke quietly but firmly, “what are ya gonna do?”

Snatching her hand away, Reimu glowered at her friend. “Now that you’ve interrupted my research, I suppose I’ll go and do whatever I need to in order to resolve this incident.”

Marisa blinked in surprise.

“Incident? Wait, I know a kid gettin’ attacked is real serious business and all but is it bad enough to call it an ‘incident?’ Really?”

Reimu’s eyes turned so deeply cold, her frown so dark, that Marisa had to look away.

“I’m calling it an ‘incident’ so,” she said sternly, “it’s an ‘incident.’ You’d best be prepared for the worst. This may be far more serious than we suspect.”

Her face softened ever so slightly. “Someone or something is playing a game with us right now but I’m not going to let them win. We’re going to resolve this tonight. I don’t believe this nonsense for a moment but it’s not up to me. What matters most is protecting Gensokyo by keeping order and the peace. _No matter the cost_.”

With those parting words, Reimu stepped out of the Hakurei Shrine and flew into the air at top speed.

“Dang it, what the heck is goin’ on?!” Marisa asked the night itself as she hopped back on her broom and shot up into the black sky to follow her friend.

 

Clothes shredded.

Spatters of blood.

Bits of flesh.

Fine bone splinters.

Sparkling eyes filled with fear.

Each detail had already burned itself indelibly into Rinnosuke’s memory. These were horrifying things, and he wished he hadn’t seen them, yet he found himself unable to turn away. As a man, he wanted to help her, but part of him also desperately wanted to slam his door in the face of the apparently persecuted maiden. Fortunately for her, the better part of his nature insisted he play would-be savior to the distressed damsel.

‘Why do these girls always seem to come at the most inconvenient times?’ he thought in annoyance. He’d scarcely pulled his sheets to his chin a second before her pounding and yowling roused him back to bleary-eyed fuzziness. He stared at her haggardly, but alertly.

He was quite awake now.

The sight of gore tended to do that for him.

“What happened?!” Rinnosuke shouted as he finally broke out of his exasperated trance. “Are you alright, Chen? Who did this?”

Trembling, Chen’s eyes were watery as she shook her head. “Not Chen!”

Rinnosuke’s hand stopped halfway to her shoulder. He stared very carefully at Chen, squinting at her cautiously from behind his glasses. Studying her, he wondered what he should do exactly. There were plans for moments like these and even he knew them by heart though he’d never once expected he’d ever need them.

Yukari always had plans though usually he didn’t have to worry too much about them.

Knowing those plans both backwards and forwards, Rinnosuke found himself more than a little confused about his involvement.

‘So she came here first, then,’ he thought uncertainly. ‘I wonder why? She should have headed straight for the Hakurei Shrine. So why did she come here? Surely she hasn’t attacked anyone. Chen’s not such a messy eater as this.’

A fastidious air about him, Rinnosuke diverted his comforting hand to his pouch. He pulled out a mostly unsoiled handkerchief and tried to clean Chen up a little. “So, another youkai attacked some poor soul out on the road?” he asked, testing the first hypothesis that came to his mind. “You got caught up in something serious but I don’t think you should have come to me about it. I’m a simple shopkeeper after all.”

Chen shook her head again, inadvertently slinging a bit of shredded meat onto Rinnosuke.

“No, no, no! That’s not what happened! It’s much worse than that!”

As he brushed off bloody filth from his clothes, an old concern of his came roaring back to him. Rinnosuke frowned and shook his head. With a sigh, he patted Chen’s head kindly and forced himself to smile at her.

“Ah, so Yukari finally blew up Ran then?”

Chen stared at Rinnosuke in complete astonishment, blinking in confusion.

“Huh?”

“I warned Yukari about it,” he said as he glanced at an old metal boxy shikigami from the outside world, “but she laughed away the concerns this raised.” He pointed to his source of wisdom. He’d learned much from it about a certain danger he now suspected had come to pass.

“It could have been avoided but, sadly, here we are. Well, I knew it would happen eventually since Ran was so terribly overworked.” Tapping the metal shikigami that he’d so carefully studied over the years, he sighed. “Ever since I learned about ‘explosive overclocking’ from this infernal thing, I began to worry for your master. My condolences.”

He gave Chen a sympathetic smile. “Do you need help gathering her remains? I’m really not the best person for that but I’ll do what I can.”

“Master isn’t dead!”

“Oh? Huh. Well, then, if you didn’t witness a rouge youkai attack on an outsider, and Ran’s still in one piece despite overclocking, then what could possibly be wrong?” He rubbed his chin. “Are you playing a prank on me?”

Exasperated, Chen glared at him.

“Oh, ho! So you are!” Rinnosuke rolled his eyes. “Of course, frighten the weak male. That isn’t ladylike behavior, you know.”

Chen’s shoulders trembled.

“You should run back home and wash that mess off before your master scolds you.”

“ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME OR NOT?!”

Rinnosuke winced and pressed palms against his ears.

“Certainly not if you’re going to scream at me,” he grumbled.

Before he could offer to let Chen wash off in his bath, she’d zipped away at top speed, vanishing into the thick woods. Hands on hips, he sighed in irritation and rubbed the back of his head, wondering what was going on.

“What _was_ that all about anyway?”

“I have no idea.”

Startled, Rinnosuke jerked and spun to stare at a tall, thin woman dressed in a maid’s uniform who stood behind him and had somehow gotten inside his shop undetected.

Immediately, he relaxed as he recognized her.

“Oh, it’s you. What can I do for you this evening? My shop is technically closed but I suppose I can make an exception since I’m already awake.” He sighed and yawned. “More or less awake.”

The maid curtsied humbly, bowing her head slightly, then stood rigidly straight.

“Thank you, Mr. Morichika. I won’t take up too much of your time. I simply need you to deliver this message to our mutual friend.” She handed him a plain white envelope then walked immediately past him and out into the darkness.

“Suit yourself,” Rinnosuke grumbled. As he started back into his shop, wondering if locks existed that could keep any of Gensokyo’s women out of his home, he glanced down at the envelope in his hand.

In an elegant script, the name [MARISA KIRISAME] was inscribed in red ink.

 

* * *

 

“How very peculiar,” Drosselmeyer grumbled to himself as he stared into the crystal mirror. Frowning, he rubbed his chin and pointedly glowered at the sight. His eyes narrowed sharply. “No changes? Why, they’ve done so little that they might as well not even bothered to move at all! Most peculiar . . . and a little vexing.”

A sinister scowl overcoming him, Drosselmeyer bared his teeth, grinding them furiously.

Then he took a deep breath and shrugged.

“Ah, well! I suppose without my brilliance, they remain lost. Such is the fate of mere characters without a Plot to guide them!” he proclaimed with a chuckle. He folded his arms across his chest smugly.

Then he yawned grandly.

“How boring. Do something, anything, you silly goose . . . er, duck!” he commanded the orange-haired girl sitting on her bed, kicking her legs like a bored child.

After watching her silently awhile longer, he finally threw his hands up in the air.

“Bah! This is poor entertainment indeed!”

Turning away from the mirror, Drosselmeyer spread his arms and held up his stumpy wrists. His hands floated down from above and reconnected painlessly. Theatrically, he began to pace and grumble to himself.

“Really, where _is_ this story going? I’ve got that silly youkai wandering around chasing birds, my commissioner has his little project waiting in the wings, that simpleton bully is naively taking my direction straight to his fate while the other pawn is naked and alone, and yet there are still so many potential new pieces yet to be granted a proper role!”

Drosselmeyer tapped his chin as he pondered things. “Oh, but what of these other characters, these hat-wearing creature people? Thanks to the game’s accursed rules, I can’t even sneak a peek inside their gilded cage now!”

He shook his head and flopped down upon his golden throne, slouching comfortably, thinking over the situation for a moment. Then with a gesture, Drosselmeyer drew himself closer to his writing desk. He reached for the book of rules, thinking there was time enough to kill searching for a loophole to exploit.

Where the book should have been, he found nothing.

Puzzled, he sat up straighter.

“Hmm? Where did I . . . oh!” He spotted the tedious tome off toward the back corner of his desk. “Humph, must have kicked it in my sleep.” With that grumble, Drosselmeyer sent a hand floating over to pick it up and bring it to him.

With the book in hand, he once more set upon reading the intricate rules of the demons’ game, never once doubting that the book was his alone to study.

 

* * *

 

Expecting a stroll through the Forest of Magic to be quiet, peaceful event, Yuyuko had kindly given her faithful retainer Youmu personal leave. Yuyuko had hoped to enjoy a few precious moments of sweet solitude in the cool night. Several pressing matters weighed on her thoughts. Her chores needed doing but they were the sort she hoped to put off further. A quiet moonlit stroll had seemed the perfect escape from responsibility.

“So then I said, ‘the answer is zero! There are no buses in Gensokyo!’ You get it?”

Escape? She’d been a fool.

Yuyuko buried her face in the palms of her hands and ground her teeth. She wanted to scream but thought better of it. Certainly there were few things less ladylike than screeching in exasperated fury.

Instead, she smiled extra warmly and clapped her hands together, pretending to be amused and interested.

“My, that _is_ such a clever joke for you, Ms. Cirno!”

Puffing out her flat chest, placing her hands on her diminutive hips as she struck a pose, Cirno the icy fairy preened prouder than any peacock in the history of prideful displays.

“Yeah! I knew you’d get my joke, ‘cause you’re strong too!”

‘That doesn’t make any sense at all, Nineball!’ Yuyuko thought coldly behind her smile.

Cirno scratched her head, messing up her light blue hair and leaving her dark green ribbon askew. Tiny flecks of ice drifted down as she cocked her head to one side.

“It’s so weird though. Yuuka didn’t get that joke and she’s _almost_ as strong as me!”

Yuyuko rubbed her temples. “Oh? How _very_ surprising. Well, I do apologize but I have to be going and-”

As she tried to walk away, Cirno zipped in front of her.

“Huh? Where you going? Somewhere fun?” she asked, her eyes sparkling like diamond dust in the winter wind.

In point of fact, Yuyuko had been strolling under the moonlight specifically to enjoy herself because she hadn’t wanted to go where she needed to go instead. Of the duties left in her care by Yukari, there were some that could be fun, certainly. Still, the most pressing was anything but enjoyable. It was actually quite tedious for her though it was desperately important as well.

‘Still,’ Yuyuko’s heart warmed at the sight of the icy fairy’s child-like curiosity, ‘I could put it off a little longer. I’m sure they’ll keep and tonight is such a lovely night. The barrier check would be much more entertaining . . . even with such company.’

She sighed gently, making up her mind with a shrug. “Well, perhaps I am going somewhere fun.”

“I knew it!” Cirno shouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, “‘cause I’m the smartest too!” Her grin was surprisingly adorable.

A slightly hungry smile began to form on Yuyuko’s face. She wet her lips enticingly with her tongue as she took a step toward the fairy. “You know, I have a bit of a craving for a sweet shaved ice. Perhaps we could go-”

Before Yuyuko could be further tempted to say anything she _probably_ wouldn’t regret too much, someone dashed from the darkness and slammed into her legs. Although struck hard, Yuyuko barely wobbled and never once thought she would fall.

Instead, whomever had run into her crumpled as all their forward momentum died.

“My!” Yuyuko blurted as she leaned down curiously. “Are you alright?”

Lying on her back, her brown eyes overflowing with tears, Chen gasped for breath. Her forehead ached. Rubbing it gingerly, but quickly, she stared up and found herself gazing into a lovely valley of pale skin. Yuyuko’s kimono hung loose around her chest as she smiled down on the young youkai.

Chen’s clothes were ripped and torn all over, as if she’d been racing through thick brambles, though the truth was much worse.

She was covered in blood that wasn’t her own.

Her eyes were clear and uncertain.

No trace of malice or arrogance was present in those dark eyes.

There were no signs of Chen’s master in them either. That fact alone was enough to immediately peak Yuyuko’s interest. The spirits circling over her head grew slightly more restless as her own thoughts began to race. She took in every detail of Chen’s appearance in the time it took a single speck of candle light to dash across a room.

“Dear me, were you in a fight?” She cocked her head to one side, her eyes twinkling.

Cirno clapped her hands together.  “Did you win?”

Chen met Yuyuko’s eyes directly and she was taken aback by Chen’s lost expression. The nekomata’s eyes were wide with fear but infinitely desperate as well.

“IT WASN’T ME BUT I DID IT THEN I TRIED TO HELP BUT I COULDN’T SO I RAN AND NOW EVERYONE THINKS I’M BAD BUT I’M NOT, I’M SCARED, I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

She paused to gasp in a single sharp breath.

“IGOTTAGOBYE!” Cirno yelled as she zipped away into the night, her hands firmly pressed against her ears, her expression a bit panicked.

Yuyuko almost called out for the fairy to stay but instead she winced as Chen sobbingly wailed so loudly that she felt dizzy.

“HELP CHEN!!”

As she ran out of air again, Chen fell silent, but she’d already started to take in an even deeper breath. Before she could finish and continue, Yuyuko knelt before Chen, directing a stern grimace at her. The phantasmal princess reached out and clamped a hand down on her shoulder.

Looming over her, Yuyuko’s grip was painfully tight, catching Chen completely off-guard.

In a voice cold as ice, Yuyuko whispered “if you say another word at that volume, then I’ll refuse to help you.”

Chen froze.

Immediately smiling pleasantly, Yuyuko patted Chen’s bare head and scratched between her ears, ruffling her hair and forcing a soft purr from her. “Good girl! Now that you’ve gotten yourself under control, explain things from the beginning . . . but use your indoor voice this time, please. My ears are too sensitive for such caterwauling.”

 

* * *

 

The sound had been with him for more years than he could remember. He’d grown so accustomed to the metallic clinking of the thousands of golden gear teeth grinding softly that he rarely noticed it at all anymore. Drosselmeyer wasn’t sure why today he kept glancing up from the rule book to ponder the sound more carefully but he was growing more than a little irritated.

He needed to focus. “Read,” his demon commanded mere seconds ago in the moment it appeared before him. “Today,” it had rasped before vanishing as quickly as it had coalesced. Like a man possessed, Drosselmeyer read.

“Oh bother,” he grumbled softly to himself. “I suppose I should consider myself fortunate to face so minor a punishment. Merely bending a rule, rather than breaking one, warranted more concern than I would have expected but still . . . .”

He tapped at the enormous book of rules his demon had left him. With a raspy cluck of his tongue, he let out a long torturous sigh. “Read all of this by tomorrow? Every word? The _dullness_ may kill me again.”

A slight involuntary twitch of his eyebrow brought his gaze to the ceaselessly turning gears once again. For a time, he stared at them but he still couldn’t put his finger on the reason why they irritated him now.

“Perhaps what I need is a bit of creature comfort to get focused.”

Humming a melancholic tune under his breath, Drosselmeyer puttered about his lair, pausing here and there to glance askance at the gears. He conjured up the things he needed with the easy wave of his hands.

To ease the annoyance of his task, he set up an automatic page-turning machine on his writing desk. It was a mechanism he’d personally designed, something he’d employed several times now to continuously write stories into life.

Carefully disarming the quill and ink, he placed the precious book of rules into it.

Drosselmeyer narrowed his eyes and glared at the gears again. ‘Why do you vex me today?’ He sighed, forcing the irritation from his thoughts once more. He didn’t have the time nor the inclination to waste on such a trivial matter.

Sending his hands off to brew a pot of Darjeeling and Assam tea, he sat once more, and nodded to his machine. It maintained a steady pace, one far slower than his typical reading speed, but only a slight nudge of his stumpy wrist was needed to signal for the next page.

The gears turning caught his attention again but he refused to stand and kept reading.

Eventually, his hands brought him a pot of steaming tea. Pouring a small cup full, he drank deeply and leaned back in his throne. His hands reattached just as the machine flipped the rule book’s page.

In the same moment, the golden gears once again caught his attention. As it had so many times since he’d first noticed, there was a faint discordant tone hidden in the usual symphony, and Drosselmeyer pressed his finger tips together as he sat now in silence to listen. He closed his eyes, opened his ears, and waited.

He felt more at ease now.

“There’s something caught in the gears,” he murmured.

When he heard that angel’s whisper of a sound, he snapped his fingers with a flourish, and all became perfect silence. The golden clockworks did not grind to a halt so much as they ceased to move instantly. He was surrounded by an infinite sea of silence.

The clucking of his tongue echoed deep within his realm.

“Let’s see what you are, shall we?” he snarled with a smile.

He sent out his left hand. It floated lazily toward a gear just beyond his desk. Never once standing, Drosselmeyer closed his eyes to concentrate, content to feel about the teeth as a blind man would. In so doing, he expected he’d find it quickly enough.

He wasn’t wrong.

“There you are,” he said with a smile as his finger tips plucked a scrap of paper from between the gears. Bringing it close to his face, staring at it carefully, he began to frown ever more deeply. After a moment, he carefully folded the paper and tucked it into a pocket.

Going back to the rule book with a sigh, Drosselmeyer nodded and once more the gears turned in a now perfectly clear tone that he swiftly went back to ignoring. His orange eyes fell upon the words before him as he pondered what he’d just read off the scrap of paper. Muttering wordlessly to himself, he considered his options.

There were so many possible plot twists to employ.

Smiling, he refocused on the rule book.

Eventually, he began to yawn.

“I’m still in no rush,” he said to himself as he patted his pocket.

 

* * *

 

Not far from the edge of the village, beside the long highroad leading toward the Hakurei Shrine, Yuyuko pulled Chen a little closer. Nestled in amongst dozens of thick wild plants, she listened intently to her story as she absently played with the tips of her tails. They were huddled under a particularly tall tree, sitting so close Yuyuko could feel the small youkai’s heartbeat. Still, she squeezed her a little more tightly as Chen finished explaining her ordeal.

“Do you believe me?” Chen asked cautiously and quietly at the end.

“I . . . hmm, I suppose I must.”

Smiling, Yuyuko nodded to herself, and gently massaged the tender skin of Chen’s cat ears. The young youkai girl could hardly resist purring like a playful kitten as she blushed.

“Indeed, yes, I _do_ believe you completely,” Yuyuko said with a chuckle. “Were you to make up a story, I’m quite sure you’d come up with a more believable one. In my opinion, your current lack of credibility actually adds to your credibleness.”

Chen’s stricken expression made Yuyuko ruffle her hair again.

“Please, don’t worry,” she said kindly.

“O-okay.”

“Also, I do not think you need to eavesdrop any longer,” Yuyuko cheerfully said to a particular patch of darkness.

In the midst of a wild copse, in which the trees had long ago grown beyond fear of axes, a nervous Youmu appeared with both swords drawn. Her clothes were stained with thick brown globs of mud and smudges of green. A frustrated twitch of her eyes as she staggered out from the forest’s darkness was clear evidence her mood was poor.

A small branch hokora, placed by the Moriya Shrine, provided her with support.

“I’m so tired,” Youmu muttered to herself.

Yuyuko chuckled softly. “I should say so after such a _vigorous_ training session,” she teased with a wink.

The half-ghost girl grimaced as she bowed her head. “You knew?”

“A little specter told me,” Yuyuko said disappointedly with a cheerful grin.

“I see.”

“You should introduce me to your new sparring partner sometime. I would like to meet a human that can go toe to toe with you and emerge victorious. He must be quite the swordsman.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Also, you believe Chen completely, yes?”

“Wah?” Youmu frowned as she wiped off her swords one at a time. “Not really. Her story sounds completely ridiculous to me. I’m surprised you think she’s telling the truth.”

Yuyuko shook her head as she sighed. Her face took on a supremely serene expression as she tapped her chin, muttering something unintelligible to herself. Turning her pale-pink eyes upward, she gazed at the moon. As if inspired, she then clapped her hands together with a warm laugh, looking back to her retainer.

“Let me ask you something, Youmu,” she said in a tone that brooked no refusal, “do you wish to humble yourself before me or to exalt yourself?”

For a moment, Youmu had to think carefully simply to determine if she’d heard her mistress’s questioning words correctly. Discerning if there were a trick hidden in them wasn’t necessary.

There was always a trick.

Always.

“Obviously . . . I wish to humble myself,” Youmu spoke in cautious tones, “you’re my mistress and lady.”

“Oh? But think of this: those who conspicuously seek to exalt themselves are in turn often humbled but those who act with humility, but strive secretly toward exaltation, may obtain their desires.” Yuyuko spoke in a soft voice, forcing Youmu to listen carefully, and her eyes held her audience to attention. “At this very moment, a group of villagers is out hunting youkai, hunting for Chen really.”

Both Chen and Youmu were startled by that proclamation.

“I’m quite correct. There’s no chance that some _seemingly humble_ villagers would pass up an opportunity to exalt themselves in a perfectly justifiable hunt for a guilty youkai. Their history may be a bit secret but there’s not doubt of their association’s goals.” Yuyuko winked cutely as tilted her head to one side. “Do you see now?”

Youmu bowed her head respectfully.

“I see. I retract my prior statement.”

“Youmu and I believe you,” Yuyuko said to Chen with a kind smile.

The half-specter behind her bowed her head slightly lower. “Yes, we both do. If Lady Yuyuko believes you then you must be telling the truth.”

“Really now, my believing her doesn’t make her words any truer,” Yuyuko teased. “Every word of her story was simply true, that is all. Especially the lies.”

“Huh?! B-b-b-but Chen didn’t lie at all!” Chen sputtered.

Youmu stared uncertainly at her mistress but Yuyuko chuckled and waved away both of their curious stares.

“Please, calm yourselves, that was simply in jest,” Yuyuko said placatingly. “It was such a serious story that I couldn’t help myself.” She smiled and slid a hand down Chen’s shoulder to rest in the small of her back. Between that, and an increasingly vigorous ear massage, Chen started to feel dizzy and giddy at the same time.

As Chen’s eyes became heavy-lidded and glistened in the moonlight, Yuyuko leaned down and softly blew in her cat ears. The sensation was clearly more than a little pleasant as Chen squirmed but made no attempt to get away.

“Hehehe,’ she giggled.

Yuyuko leaned closer.

“AHEM!”

Yuyuko wrenched herself away from Chen as Youmu cleared her throat as conspicuously as possible.

“Oh dear,” Yuyuko said repentantly as she hid her expression behind her hastily drawn fan, “I was getting a bit forward there, wasn’t I? My apologies, my dear Chen!” She bowed her head toward Youmu almost reflexively before nodding at Chen.

Staring curiously, and with the slightest hint of disappointment, Chen innocently asked “what does ‘forward’ mean?”

Blushing a bit, Yuyuko shook her head, then laughed lightheartedly.

“Let us set that aside for now,” she proclaimed, “and go see the villagers together!”

 

“You want to see my mistress again? So soon?” Hong Meiling asked curiously as she leaned against one of the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s front gate posts. Although completely relaxed, there wasn’t the slightest hint in her body language of an opening to get past her.

The village elder nodded. “Ah, well you see . . . something’s happened in the village.”

Scratching her head and yawning, Hong Meiling shrugged disinterestedly. “There’s always something happening there but I doubt my mistress would find much of it amusing. Do you have an appointment? Are you on time?”

“No, I don’t have an appointment but-”

“The mistress is dining right now. This really isn’t a good time.”

“Please, it’s very important that I-”

“You didn’t bring a gift either, did you? The mistress always appreciates little courtesies like that. It’s a little rude not to have one, don’t you agree?”

The village elder nodded quickly. “I’ll remember one next ti-”

“I think it would be best for you to leave and come back later.”  
  
She was the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s ‘Great Wall.’

With her eyes, she tracked even the slightest shifts of his body. Her piercing aqua stare went deep into him, probing for weakness. Despite their friendly warmth, they were the eyes of someone not to be trifled with.

Surrounded by long scarlet hair, her ears perked ever so in tune with the pace of his heart, and it wasn’t difficult to believe they could even hear the whisper of his thoughts.

Every breath he released was drawn in by the minute flare of her nostrils.

He knew she could smell his fear and taste its rancid bile with her inhumanely sensitive tongue. It wasn’t difficult to believe her skin could feel the air he displaced with every nervous twitch of his body as well.

She frightened him a little though he’d never once seen her harm a human nor heard any rumors of such a thing.

“Please, there isn’t time for this,” the village elder pleaded earnestly. “You’ve got to let me see her! Perhaps she won’t be amused but I’m certain she’ll wish to know of this situation. Blocking my way is a mistake.”

Hong Meiling raised an eyebrow. “You know, a gate guard’s job _is_ to get in people’s way.” Her lips drifted up into a faint smile. “And I am a gate guard after all, so I have to get in your way just a little.”

With those words, she stepped forward with poise and the graceful ease of a well-trained martial artist, her lithe body seeming to flow with the air itself rather than push through it. Her long green dress swirled about her slender legs and shapely hips, the slits up the sides revealing enough to make the old man blush before he looked away.

“Follow me,” she said with a cheerful nod toward the mansion’s entrance.

Once inside, the village elder was again nearly overcome by his dread.

Of all the youkai in existence, the vampire sisters were the most frightening to him, though he couldn’t quite explain why. Their attempted conquest of Gensokyo was long before his time after all and they hadn’t intended to harm anyone during the scarlet mist incident. Still, willingly walking toward one of them made him feel distinctly like a lamb approaching the slaughterhouse.

He supposed that might simply be his human instinct.

Trying to distract himself with the monochromatic mansion’s interior he found far too many portraits of the vampire sisters, whether singling or together, for his tastes.

Following close behind Hong Meiling, trying not to think about _them_ , he spotted a young girl dressed in a maid’s outfit. She was carefully adjusting a massive framed portrait of the mansion’s mistress, working under the guidance of two more maids with twitching wings on their backs.

“You see, like this,” the girl said to the fairies.

“Oh! So easy!” replied the fairy maids. “For a rookie, you’re pretty good.”

The village elder paused.

He stopped walking.

“Excuse me,” he called out, his hand raised.

The girl turned, saw his face, then blushed bright red and looked away.

Hong Meiling put a hand on the village elder’s shoulder. Her fingers were gentle yet he felt an unbelievable strength in them too.

Turning to face her, he exploded. “That maid’s a human girl from the village! Your mistress isn’t supposed to take girls from the village!” His flabbergasted expression gave him a comical look that immediately sent Hong Meiling into a fit of giggles even as he sputtered.

After a moment, she raised her hand and waved it quickly. “Ah, no, no, no! Please! I’m not laughing at you! It’s just, your expression is so funny . . . oops, guess I _was_ laughing at you.”

The village elder stared at her angrily.

“Please, don’t interfere with the mansion’s staff,” Hong Meiling politely commanded. “Some of our maids are just normal people who happen to be assisting us. That’s no reason for anyone to worry. They’re guests and the mistress treats them very well. If they wish to provide tribute for their mistress, then perhaps that’s a maid’s duty, but I can assure you that no one here has been ‘taken’ from anywhere.”

“But that girl-”

Hong Meiling’s face darkened. Her eyes narrowed and her lips formed a thin line.

“While beating up intruders can be fun,” she said gently, “I’m not fond of ejecting visitors.” The threat in her words was more than clear.

“Um, please don’t get angry with him,” the human maid implored with a nervous bow. “He doesn’t know about the arrangement.”

“Ah, right,” Hong Meiling sighed and scratched the back of her head. “Of course. Well, the mistress can explain it if she feels like it. Come along, then,” she said to the elder. Looking back to the maid, she smiled kindly.

“Oh, and when she gets back, you tell Sakuya that we need some fresh catfish if we’re going to do that fish fry for the mistress.”

The human maid bowed with a grin. “Yes, ma’am!”

Hong Meiling pressed her hand against the village elder’s back and applied the tiniest fraction of her strength possible, which sent him almost to his knees, to get him moving along. In silence, they walked into the innermost chambers of the mansion. Then, almost as an afterthought, she said “you know, there aren’t many ways for young girls to pay their parents’ debts. The village economy hasn’t been so good recently, yes?”

The elder frowned but said nothing.

“Some places are always hiring. They pay very well. The work is very wet and messy, sometimes the girls are really unhappy, but enough money can buy just about anything I suppose.” Hong Meiling folded her arms behind her head as she walked. “My mistress pays even better. Regularly too. The work isn’t easy but it’s cleaner.”

She glanced over and seemed pleased by his abruptly contrite expression. Driving her point home, she finished by saying “some girls are too scared to come work here. _They’d rather be soiled_.”

“. . . .”

“Here,” Hong Meiling stopped outside the sealed double doors of the mansion’s throne room. “You wait here while I see if my mistress is willing to take a guest tonight.” She paused. “You said something happened in the village? What exactly was it?”

“A human child was attacked by a youkai inside the village.”

With a sad frown, Hong Meiling bowed. She opened the doors a crack and slipped inside, letting them shut gently behind her.

A few moment’s later, she popped her head back out. “Oh, remember to thank the mistress before you leave this time. You’re a guest in this mansion and it’s rude not to express your thanks to your hostess, particularly if you intend to keep coming by unannounced.”

The village elder nodded. “Ah, yes. Please, give my apologies to her regarding my visit earlier. It seems there have been a great many surprises recently.”

Hong Meiling smirked.

“All things are difficult before they are easy.”

 

* * *

 

“Gah, this is ridiculous!”

With an enraged shout, Laxus sat up in bed and threw his pillow away. Sparks flickered around the edges of his eyes as he ground his teeth painfully. He hadn’t been able to sleep at all so far.

He kept remembering that bloody girl.

“Why can’t I stop thinking about that?” he grumbled to himself. “Damn, am I going soft now too?”

He got out of bed while growling under his breath.

Paced.

“My plan’s flawless!”

More pacing.

“Damn it, I’m calling this whole thing off!” Laxus abruptly declared. “Whoever that girl is, she’s clearly not my enemy, and neither is anyone else in Magnolia! What the hell have I even been thinking anyway? Fairy Tail ain’t a dark guild for crying out loud but here I am planning to take hostages and threaten the whole city? I must be losing my mind.”

Talking to himself as he continued to pace, Laxus felt as if a terrible weight were shifting from his shoulders.

“What, I’m going to throw Fiore’s biggest temper tantrum and gramps is just going to hand over the keys to our guild hall? Am I an idiot?! He’d never do that!”

Laxus suddenly started laughing.

He laughed long and hard, shaking his head the whole time.

Then he cried for a few minutes.

Finally, he sat down on his bed, exhausted.

“There’s a better way,” he said softly to himself.

“I’m sure there is,” a voice said crisply behind him, “but the canon must be maintained.”

Laxus started to turn around-

“Who the Hel-”

-but froze as a man pressed palms against his wizard’s skull.

Uttering strange words, the intruder stared into Laxus’s eyes. His voice conveyed a language so ancient and pure that it resonated with the most primal parts of his captive’s brain, triggering minor seizures as it ignited a flurry of synaptic sparking. All thought of resistance, let alone independent thought, ceased within his prey.

In a mere three seconds, he had defeated one of Fairy Tail’s most powerful S-Class wizards without so much as a strained muscle.

“You will forget all that you’ve experienced this night,” the man commanded softly. “Tomorrow, you’ll wake up refreshed and strong. You will begin your fighting festival.”

He paused and tilted his head as if to listen to a voice in the silent room.

His expression grew disgusted.

“I see . . . I will comply,” he said in a defeated whisper.

Looking back to Laxus’s slack jawed vacant stare, he grimaced. Taking a deep breath, the man resolutely glared at the wizard.

“You have been called upon to do as I command. Tomorrow, you shall awaken knowing that everyone in the Fairy Tail guild is your enemy. You will believe this without doubt. The people of Magnolia are also your mortal opponents. They stand against you’re rightful ascent as guild master.” He paused, his face twisting. “And you . . . will not stop fighting . . . until you’ve taken a life.”

The man released Laxus and stepped back. His head hung low, he vanished from the room in an instant without any sound or magic.

After a few seconds, Laxus blinked and scowled.

“Damn it, what was I dreaming?” he asked himself as he rubbed his head. “Bah! Dreams are nothing compared to what I’m going to make reality into tomorrow. I can’t wait for my fighting festival to begin!”

Laxus laughed to himself, his desire to be the master of the Fairy Tail guild filling him with energy, yet he fell into a deep and absolute sleep at the instant his head touched his pillow.

 

* * *

 

“Well this . . . wasn’t what I expected to happen.”

Yuyuko frowned as she stood with Chen beside her, the poor girl trembling as she clutched at her. In front of them, Youmu brandished her swords at the surrounding villagers, her eyes darting from one angry face to another. They were surrounded.

‘Pitchforks and torches . . . some of them actually have pitchforks and torches.’

In a way, Yuyuko was impressed, but at the same time she couldn’t help but think that there might be an air of theater about the whole affair. ‘Could _they_ be making a move to seize control of the village? Even without the strength to fight powerful youkai, with Yukari absent, perhaps Mr. A has gotten full of himself?’

Outwardly, she gave no indication of being so much as put off by the obvious lynch mob.

“Excuse me,” she called out with a smile, “but might we see the village elder? This girl has something important to tell him.”

“The elder isn’t here.”

An old woman stepped forward. Though she looked frail, her razor-sharp gaze and stiff posture imparted an air of absolute will. Yuyuko needed but a glance at her face to know that she’d be wasting her words.

Still, the effort had to be made. She owed at least that much to Yukari.

“Oh? Then, might you be the one in charge?”

The woman glared at Yuyuko. “You . . . you’re the silent one that was with the Hakurei Maiden and that accursed _gap youkai_.”

Yuyuko curtsied cheerfully. “Indeed, I am grateful to be remembered. Having been remembered myself, I do hope you will remember yourself as well. There are rules and procedures that need be followed. Matters such as this must be handled by the proper authorities.” She stood straight and returned a harsh glare with a warm smile. “As leaders, we cannot allow frailties of flesh nor the ravages of time to take away our reason.”

Though her words clearly irritated the old woman, she did not a thing but shake her head and point at Chen.

“Give that creature over to us for judgement.”

“Sorry, but I do not believe this can be resolved until the elder ret-”

“CHEEEEEEEN!!”

Both Yuyuko and the old woman turned. They watched as Ran, effortlessly and surprisingly gently, shoved her way through the crowd. Brushing past both women, she dropped to her knees and wrapped Chen in her arms. Instantly, both shed tears of a thousand emotions.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Chen cried out.

Ran rubbed her head soothingly. “It’s fine, I promise everything will be fine.”

‘Well, there goes my last chance of delaying this,’ Yuyuko thought with a sigh.

The old woman clearly agreed. She glared in hateful rage at Ran and Chen. “That poor boy will never again hold his mother yet you dare do such a thing with that beast?”

“Chen’s innocent!” Ran proclaimed, trying to believe her own lie.

Without another word, the woman turned to Yuyuko.

“You are the phantasmal princess of Hakugyokurou, correct?”

Yuyuko fluttered a fan in front of her face and merely smiled.

“Leave, we have no business with you.”

With a shrug, Yuyuko waved to Youmu, “it can’t be helped. Let’s do as she says for now. There’ll be quite a mess for the shinigami otherwise.”

Everyone present, from Youmu to Ran to the old woman stared at her in astonishment. Her words both stunned and unnerved the surrounding villagers. Clutching their weapons with white-knuckled determination, sharing uncertain glances with each other, they understood the implications of Yuyuko’s words all too well.

“Wait, you’re leaving?!” Ran asked incredulously, too surprised to fully understand.

“Mmm, yes. I think it for the best,” Yuyuko nodded at Youmu as she sheaved her swords. “As I said, if I continue to be a part of this affair, _the shinigami will be overworked_. I doubt anyone wants a repeat of the last time that happened.”

She smiled pleasantly and sent one of her specters flying into the sky. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be quite a repeat since so many more souls would be taking an active role in the affair.”

The mob of villagers shared nervous glances.

“Wh-wh-what about Chen?” Ran asked desperately.

Yuyuko smiled down at the trembling nekomata. With a wink, she said “I’m sure this will all work out somehow.”

With those careless words, Yuyuko walked away from the bothersome situation, Youmu keeping close beside. As they approached the wall of humanity blocking her path, another wink from her caused the villagers to part like paper slashed by a razor’s edge. Together the princess and gardener quickly passed through the gap before the villagers again closed ranks behind them.

The old woman smirked at her prey.  
  
Ran clutched Chen close and squeezed her eyes shut.

The mob hesitated for a moment but then began to advance resolutely, their weapons of youkai extermination held at the ready, all glaring at Chen. Gritting her teeth, Ran looked away. She turned her eyes on she who was at the center of this cruelty, the old woman grinning with malice as she silently ordered the attack with her calculating eyes.

Ran’s muscles tightened but she neither fled nor prepared to fight. She held Chen more tightly and whispered “it’ll be fine. I’m here with you. I always will be.”

Chen embraced her, understanding.

They were Yukari’s shikigami. They would follow her rules to the very end.

Looking away from the approaching mob, Ran and Chen held each other, and tuned out the approaching humans' fury. The two were fearful, their faces awash in tears, but too many things were left unsaid between them for silence.

Knowing death was drawing closer, Ran whispered to Chen “mother’s here.”

“Chen loves you,” her shikigami whispered with a gentle smile.

Then everything changed.

“Stop this! Stop it now!”

Ran looked up in teary-eyed astonishment as Reimu floated down from the slowly brightening sky. She landed directly between Chen and the mob of people.

Her hands were not empty.

“Maiden of the Hakurei, this matter is village business,” the mob’s leader began.

Reimu raised a defiant hand, cutting the old woman off instantly. In her other hand’s clenched fingers, she held her gohei, it’s tassels fluttering as an ill wind passed by. A simmering aura of mystic energies flowed out from every pore in her skin as emotions within her roiled about like toys in a typhoon. With cold eyes, she glared back at she who, by all custom, should have been her superior.

“My duty is not merely to this village but to all of Gensokyo,” Reimu said sternly, “and this matter is under my jurisdiction if I say it is. So this is my decision to make, no one else’s, unless you wish to violate the contract for yourselves.”

Nervously, the villagers watched as the most powerful human in Gensokyo pointed her gohei at them in a sweeping gesture. Their hearts pounded, fearing what was about the happen, yet they were unable to turn away. Few had seen this side of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden before, neither among the villagers nor among the youkai, which only added to their unease.

Before them stood the one who had resolved virtually ever major incident in Gensokyo though many of the villagers remained blissfully unaware of that fact.

Behind Reimu, Ran was patting Chen’s head gently, holding her shikigami tightly. Chen shook with fear as she beheld the sight of Reimu’s serene rage. Together, both youkai waited intently for their absolute faith in their friend to be rewarded.

What Reimu said next left everyone stunned to their cores.

“If you can prove that Chen is the cause of this incident, then I will exterminate her myself. Permanently.”

 

* * *

 

“At least he’s resting comfortably now,” Dr. Vincent said dryly.

Close beside the older man, nurse Ellis nodded. “Will the specialist be here tomorrow?”

“I have no idea with that woman. Frankly, I’m astounded she even accepted our request,” he snorted diffidently and shook his head in amazement. “Must be the end of the world.”

Glancing through a window at the dark sky beyond the small hospital room, he smiled.

“Well, whether she comes or not, I’m off-duty. Finally,” Dr. Vincent said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his graying hair. “Days like this, they weigh on me. First all of those mysterious mugging incidents, then that bloody girl and this poor bastard, and even Ben was brought in. If tomorrow’s anything like today, then I’m retiring.”

“Mind if I join you, sir?” Ellis said in a slight whisper.

He put a hand to his ear. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing important, sir.”

“If you say so,” he offered with a shrug. “Well, at least we’ve stabilized this poor soul.” His eyes dropped to their most mysterious patient.

Several of the clinic’s top healers had already examined the stranger and applied both potions and spells for his treatment. Not a one actually knew what had caused his condition but everyone had a pet theory. Still, they’d all done what they could to alleviate his suffering and heal his injuries. There wasn’t much more to do now but wait for his recovery.

“Since you’re taking an extra shift, Ellis, can you check in on him for me in the morning?” Dr. Vincent asked, his professional curiosity still peaked. “I would very much like to ask him about the source of those burns he had.” Yawning, he headed for the door, pausing only to point at the other occupied bed.

“Keep an eye on that freeloader too, alright?”

Ellis gave an uncertain chuckle as the doctor left the patients’ room. “I’ll try, sir.”

As the door closed, Ellis sighed. “Why can’t I just talk to him like a normal girl? Urgh.”

Alone with plenty of company -Natsu in one bed, Happy curled into a ball on his lap, and the naked man who’d suffered such terrible injuries resting in his own bed- Ellis felt oddly at ease as her final shift started.

Sighing, she set her hand on her mysterious patient’s head, gently checking for any sign that his fever had returned. His brow was cool and dry, the skin flaking between his eyebrows. Her fingers traced the deep worry lines in his forehead. ‘So deep,’ she thought, wondering what kind of life he’d lived.

“There you go, rest and heal.” Ellis smiled as she adjusted the thin sheet covering her naked patient. “We can talk in the morning.”

“Why wait?”

Ellis whirled around. What stood before her appeared to be a man in a suit, and she might have believed that lie, were it not for its eyes.

They were gleaming golden geysers of molten rage.

“Wh-”

With a snap of its fingers, Penemuel knocked Ellis unconscious, and caught her only to avoid making unnecessary noise. Frowning ambivalently, it casually dumped her in a lone chair tucked away in a corner of the room.

“Too fast,” it grumbled gruffly, “the first round is progressing much too fast! That accursed writer needs to be kept on a shorter leash.”

Standing over its target, the demon let out a long sigh. It could already tell just how severely wounded its pawn had been. However, it felt satisfied by the treatment he’d received. ‘He should still be useful,’ it thought coldly. ‘I merely need properly motivate him.’

Taping a finger against its shoulder, Penemuel thought for a moment. It wondered what thoughts were going through its pawn’s shallow human mind at that very moment. Was this human more frightened of death than of his master? Penemuel smiled mirthlessly and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“I’m not so easily fooled,” it said quietly. “I know that you’re awake, pawn.”

His eyes opened round with fear to stare up at the demon.

“Wh-what do you want? Who are y-you?”

“Amnesia? Perfect,” Penemuel snorted, “that. Is. Just. _Perfect_.” With a rough sigh, and a shake of its head, the demon pinched the bridge of its nose in a remarkably human display of frustration. An inarticulate grumble followed before it managed to clam down enough to speak rationally. “I’d prefer to restore the missing memories but unfortunately that’s not allowed in this game. It’s a small comfort to me that this amnesia is likely temporary. Once all the necessary fragments have been reassembled to make you a whole piece again, it should subside. You might even regain your memories sooner than that, Arjay of the true world.”

Lying in his hospital bed, pulling a sheet to his chest, Arjay asked “fragments? What fragments?”

“For right now, set those aside,” the demon commanded. “You are a piece in this game, my pawn, and all that you need to know is what I’m about to tell you.”

Driven by its obsession with victory, and knowing it was now at a distinct disadvantage, the demon decided to gamble. It could not afford the luxury of trusting fully in fate. Speaking in a fatherly tone, it mixed truth and lies into a false narrative so convincing it would have made Goebbels weep with envy.

Word by word, never once sounding false, it wove a tapestry of events with one inevitable conclusion. It needed to manipulate this human carefully if he was going to properly serve as a pawn.

Penemuel ended with the greatest lie of all, but one that could not be disproved, and knew it had fooled the human.

“Well, pawn, what do you think? It’s not a bad deal, is it?”

Eyes downcast, Arjay stared at his hands. His entire demeanor seemed lessened from a moment before. Softly, he whispered “I . . . carved a crest of blood? I actually did something so horrible as that?”

Penemuel thought carefully before answering honestly “you did carve a crest by spilling blood but you have nothing to feel guilty about.”

Having watched **Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood** , Arjay knew what a lie that was. He knew what it meant to carve a crest of blood, and the idea that he’d slaughtered innocent people in pursuit of what his heart most desired sickened him. The corners of his eyes were damp, and his stomach roiled and twisted in knots, but he refused to allow himself the luxury of guilt.

What he’d done could not be undone.

His only possible salvation would be found in pressing forward and pursuing the demon’s offered prize. Closing his eyes, Arjay thought about what he was being offered, and accepted that it was worth the weight of his sin.

It was the key to making his childhood dream a reality.

All he had to do was agree to play the game.

Arjay looked at Penemuel and forced himself to speak. “I accept my role as a pawn.”

“You always were the perfect choice,” it said quietly. “You’ve already paid your end of this bargain with blood. That cannot be undone. You could try to deny me but wouldn’t it be wasteful to stop playing the game now? Hasn’t there already been too much suffering?”

Arjay lay silent, his mind racing. He spat out “of course,” bitterly.

“Good,” Penemuel’s eyes suddenly stopped glowing and became no different from any other human's, “then it’s agreed you will continue to act as my pawn. As such, I have a task for you, something I believe only you can do.” It drew closer to him, its eyes narrowed to slits, and whispered in his ear before he could pull away.

“I want you to kill a certain meddlesome youkai for me.”

  
“He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted.”  
-Friedrich Nietzsche

 

End of Chapter Three

Next Chapter: Manning the Stations of Canon


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